March 2010 Hooker of the Month
Meet Our Member – Claudia Casebolt
Claudia Casebolt’s passion for rug hooking is all about creativity. She was drawn to traditional rug hooking because it allowed the artisan to be creatively involved with each step from designing the pattern to selecting the wool palette to the actual hooking. Claudia did not find these complete creative possibilities in any of the other fiber arts she had done. The history of rug hooking and the recycling 
element are additional attractions. She also likes the flexibility possible with hooked rugs. Claudia notes that “If you do not like what you have done, you can pull it out and change it. Once you create a piece of pottery, you are stuck with it, if you do not like it.”
Claudia's first exposure to rug hooking started during a two month camping trip to the Maritime Provinces in 1990. In Nova Scotia she saw someone hooking a bright floral pattern. Claudia did not like the colors but was clearly drawn to the art form. Continuing their trip, Claudia and her husband, Steve, stopped at the Grenfell House and Museum in Newfoundland. There she saw many hooked rugs hanging on the walls. At the museum Claudia noticed an announcement for a rug hooking workshop to be conducted by Jessie Turbayne the following day. Jessie was writing her first book and wanted to revitalize interest in rug hooking in Saint Anthony. The workshop was intended for the local community, but Claudia was permitted to attend. The Grenfell Museum allowed the participants to use one of their patterns.
Claudia's plan was to hook with nylon in the Grenfell manner when she returned home. She had just moved to New Jersey and through the Newcomers Club of Princeton met Elizabeth Walker who amazingly was from Newfoundland. Elizabeth was “a serious rug hooker” and took Claudia under her wing. All the leftover # 4 cut hand dyed wool from a large rug Elizabeth was working on went to Claudia. The two of them hooked together for five years. During that time they were joined by five other local rug hookers who formed the nucleus of what became known as the Hooksome and Chatmore Group. Claudia is the 
only remaining member of the original group in the area.
Even though Claudia started hooking with yarn at Jessie Turbayne's workshop and then with the #4 cut wool given to her by Elizabeth Walker, she has always liked primitive style rugs that complement the primitive furniture in her home. Claudia prefers to work with recycled wool. She has used her “share of dyed wool”, but likes it best “as is”. According to Claudia her “perfect rug is one hooked in a #6 cut, using ‘as is’ recycled wool with lettering in a pattern that she has drawn.” Interesting borders are also important. A personal storyline is often found in her patterns. Claudia says “When you look at the big picture, I want my rugs to be a storyboard of my life.” Not surprisingly, Claudia rarely works with commercial patterns. Over the years, she has hooked in #3 to #9 cuts. Her next rug will use #4 and #5 cuts since that is what the pattern calls for.
Elizabeth Walker and Hildegard Von Tenspolde provided the foundation for Claudia's rug hooking. She does not attend many camps, but in the early 90s, Claudia attended the Truro Camp in Nova Scotia for four years where she worked with Germaine James, Doris Norman (before she taught Celtic designs) and Dorothy Height. She is unable to attend the HCRAG Camp because she and Steve normally travel during the summer, but she loves to go to the Cape May Rug Camp every fall. Over the years, Claudia has worked with Gail Dufresne, Michele Micarelli, Kim Nixon, Jule Marie Smith and Abby Vakkay. She approaches instructors in a very deliberate manner. They are selected based on what she wants to learn but “I do not want my work to look like the teacher's” says Claudia.
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Hooking two hours a day with a book tape playing is her dream. In reality, hooking two days a week is more the norm. The Hooksome and Chatmore Group meet on Thursdays, so that provides one day. Claudia and Tracy Fetzer often hook on Tuesdays. Claudia and another friend, who is not a rug hooker, try to get together on Fridays where they visit while Claudia hooks and her friend does office work. A day spent sitting, talking and hooking is the ideal.
Her early instructors introduced Claudia to the rug hooking guilds in the area. Elizabeth Walker brought her to the Alice Beatty Guild and Hildegard Von Tenspolde was active with the Bucks-Mont Guild. From there Claudia learned of HCRAG. She continues her guild involvements because of the creativity she finds there. She is especially attracted to programs with outside speakers.
When it comes to hobbies and interests, Claudia's list is a long one. High on the list for her and Steve is travel. Two years ago, they spent six months going around the world. Claudia spent much time planning all aspects of the trip. They spend each summer camping and traveling. This coming summer they plan to visit Newfoundland again. Photography, quilting, Ukrainian egg decorating, reading, flea marketing, baking and visiting museums are also on the list of interests. Claudia collects folk art as well as outsider art.
Claudia and Steve live at The Lawrenceville School where Steve teaches physics. He is very involved in raising cactus and succulents and enters many of his plants in the Philadelphia Flower Show every year. He also makes most of the pots for his plants. The Lawrenceville School provides a special living community that fosters Claudia’s creative instincts. They live on the school campus with their four cats: Bogie, Bacall, Yuki Lu and Fleas.
Claudia was a hospital Medical Technologist for about 14 years before she and Steve moved from Washington State to the East Coast. They have two children. Their son, Tarmigan, is 29 years old and is an engineer living in California. Daughter, Sahale, age 26, is a graduate student at the University of Iowa where she is studying invertebrate paleontology. When Steve retires they plan to move back to Washington to the house they bought 25 years ago in Gig Harbor.
Claudia teaches a beginning group of rug hookers in her home. She helps them to design their own patterns right from the start and encourages them to use recycled wool whenever possible.
February 2010 Hooker of the Month
Meet Our Member – Patty Mahaffey
In 2003 Patty was watching a show on the Home & Garden TV channel when a segment on rug hooking caught her attention. She was intrigued and went on line to learn more. It was there that she first learned about Vicki Calu, the well-known and admired rug hooking instructor from Bucks County. 
Patty lived only 15 minutes from Vicki and started attending her Saturday classes. At the time, Vicki was also the director of the Highlands Rug Hooking School, so attending Highlands workshops came next. It was there that Patty met Gail Dufresne. She liked Gail’s wool and creative rug hooking technique. Patty has attended Gail’s open studio sessions on Saturdays for the last six years.
Geometric and pictorial patterns using bright colors are what Patty tends to hook. She likes to mix cuts depending on the rug. Most of her latest projects have been done in a #6 cut although Patty is comfortable hooking in anything from a #3 to #8 cut. She will buy a commercial pattern if it is something that she likes, but enjoys designing her own rugs.
Right from the beginning Patty was committed to learning as much as she could. She is serious about improving her technique and knowledge about all aspects of rug hooking. Patty finds that the 
workshops sponsored by local instructors such as Norma Batastini and Gail Dufresne to be invaluable in her development as a rug hooking artisan. Local classes are augmented by regular attendance at Rugs by the Sea in Cape May where she has gone for the last five years and the HCRAG camp which she attended last year for the first time. She was also “a regular” at the Highlands. Norma Batastini sponsored Patty’s participation in the McGown Certification Program where she has completed the first segment. The list of instructors with whom Patty has worked resembles the “Who’s Who” of the rug hooking world. The list currently includes 21 names! Patty states that she “has gained from every teacher and has learned from them all”. Since Patty has attended Gail Dufresne’s classes for so long, she credits Gail with being the most influential on her development and style.
Patty tries to hook after dinner every day, but when her schedule gets busy days or even a week can go by before she can sit down at her hooking frame. Weekends are the time when she can count on getting some serious hooking done. It is typical for Patty to have a couple of rugs that she alternates working on. She has about eight unfinished rugs, which is not that many considering the number of workshops she attends. Interestingly all of Patty’s completed pieces are wall hangings. None are done for the floor.
When it comes to wool, Patty takes advantage of the wool she finds at her classes and from local vendors. “There is so much beautiful wool available” says Patty “that I prefer to work with it rather than recycled wool. It can be as is or overdyed.” Finding time to do more dyeing is something she wants to do.
Patty was first introduced to our Guild when she participated in the hook-in held at the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center in conjunction with our rug exhibit in 2006. She met several members at the Highlands. Patty is also active with the Goat Hill ATHA Chapter where she serves as secretary.She saysI enjoy coming to the meetings for both guilds because it's an opportunity to see people who I may not have a chance to see on a regular basis plus, it's always fun to see what everyone is hooking and catch up on anything new that is going on in the world of rug hooking.”
In addition to rug hooking, Patty is an avid reader and enjoys knitting. She is also proficient in miniature punch needle. Patty lives in Perkasie, PA with her husband Dave, who is a police officer in Hilltown Township (PA) along with their 14 year old Bichon Frise named Muffin. They have two children, Matthew and Colleen. Matthew, age 24, followed his father into law enforcement and is a police officer in Towamencin Township (PA). Colleen, age 21, is a student at Millersville University. Patty is an administrative assistant and has worked for an electronics company in Lansdale, PA for the past 25 years.
Patty Mahaffey was clearly “hooked” when she first learned about rug hooking. When asked what it was that grabbed her, she said: “I love the fact that rug hooking can be tailored to whatever style you want whether it is primitive, traditional, whimsical, large, small, etc. and that you can either design your own rug or choose from the hundreds of patterns that are available. You can choose not only the beautiful colors and textures of wool, but also any kind of embellishment (i.e., felting, yarn, buttons, etc.) to make the rug your own. I remember being so amazed when I first started rug hooking by the whole network of teachers, workshops, and classes that are out there and, especially, the fellow rug hookers with whom I have become friends. I find it so inspiring to see other people's work and I have met so many interesting people whom I never would have met if it wasn't for rug hooking.”
January 2010 Hooker of the Month
Meet Our Member—Tracy Fetzer
Tracy was intrigued when she saw her friend Joyce Combs hooking a rug. That was in the late 1990s. Joyce gave her backing, wool and the instructional pages from Rug Hooking Magazine and sent her on her way. Although Tracy’s first project required a lot of reverse hooking, she was not deterred. Her journey and development as a gifted rug hooking artisan was launched.
Finding time to hook had to compete with the passion for boating that Tracy shared with her husband, Albi. In 1997 they refurbished a boat in Maine which they then sailed to the Florida Keys where it was docked at a marina. It became their home away from home. That first boat was sold and they purchased a 58 foot “Launch” (used to carry sailors to shore). Work started on converting the boat to a floating home. For the next 10 years Tracy and Albi spent increasing periods of time in Florida. Tracy’s hooking was restricted to their stays back in Pennsylvania. Life on the boat was too hot for hooking.
Tracy prefers hooking in the primitive style. She has done crewel embroidery and some McGown style hooking, but finds it too exacting. “I don’t have the discipline required for fine cut hooking” she claims. Tracy is more comfortable hooking with # 8cuts. In the beginning, Tracy “bought wool like crazy”. She went to all the local thrift shops looking for wool garments. Like most of us, she made mistakes buying wool that was not well suited for rug hooking, but learned in the process. She continues to work with “as is” wool, but is much more selective. Tracy also does her share of buying new wool. Tracy enjoys over dyeing wool. At one point she experimented with natural dyes coming from Goldenrod and walnut hulls. She was pleased with the results and wants to do more.
The desire to learn and improve her skills is the motivation to attend local workshops and camps in the area. Tracy is a regular participant at the HCRAG rug hooking camp. In addition, she has attended workshops at Goat Hill Studio, The Highlands and Shelburne Museum. Tracy feels very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with and be exposed to talented instructors such as Norma Batastini, Elizabeth Black, Gail Dufresne, Jayne Hester, Anne Marie Littenberg, Jule Marie Smith and Helen Wolfel. She recalls fondly her HCRAG camp with Helen Wolfel who at the time was retiring from traveling to camps. “Helen was the most wonderful teacher... such a dream…loved her.”
Joyce Combs introduced Tracy to HCRAG and to the “Hooksome Chatmore” Group. She is also a member of the Goat Hill ATHA Chapter. The relationships and friendships formed proved to be a blessing when Tracy’s life changed dramatically with the sudden and unexpected death of her husband in early 2007. Her family and rug hooking friends provided comfort and helped Tracy deal with her new life. “I treasure those friendships and could not have made it without them” she says. Using her studio that Albi built over his woodworking shop has special meaning to her when she gathers with friends. “It is a wonderful place to hook, especially on sunny or rainy days” says Tracy. “It has lots of glass windows and the views are so relaxing.”
Tracy prefers to hook on linen. Monk’s cloth is “too slick”. Her early use of commercial patterns was not satisfying. She found it difficult to relate to the designs. Consequently, Tracy now draws her own rug patterns. In the last two years, she has established more of a hooking routine. Tracy likes to hook in her kitchen in the mornings because the light is good and she can enjoy a fire in the woodstove. She finds that her schedule normally allows her to hook at least three mornings a week in addition to the Thursday gatherings of the “Hooksome Chatmore” Group. That schedule is augmented by a week long winter trip to New England to hook with past members.
Tracy is never bored with life. She is an avid gardener, belongs to a book club and has always “dabbled in the arts” -- pottery, watercolor and writing. Knitting has been a passion of hers for many years as is house restoration. Tracy also enjoys cooking, hiking and boating. “Travel has always been high on my list, starting when I was a teenager” she claims. She fondly recalls when she was living in New York City, her roommate’s sister was going to Greece and asked her if she wanted to come. “Yes!” was the answer. Tracy’s father once advised her to save one half of the money she earned from baby sitting and other odd jobs. Fortunately she heeded that advice and had a nest-egg to finance her first major trip. They traveled all through Europe, Greece, Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. Before coming home, Tracy joined a Turkish freighter heading to Italy for six more weeks. “It was basic living, but a fabulous experience”, Tracy recalls.
When it comes to her work experiences, they are diversified. Tracy lived in Manhattan and did editing for two magazines – Rudder (a boating magazine) and Woman’s Day. She earned a BA Degree in Nursing and worked as a Hospice Nurse and a Home Care Nurse for 10 years. Tracy joined her sister-in-law as a partner in The Complete Gardener, a local landscape and gardening business. She has also worked as a massage therapist.
Her family is very important and much time is spent with them even though many miles separate them. She has two step-daughters – Shawn and Lischen. Shawn, the oldest, is an artist and lives in Atlanta with her husband Michael who works for the Cartoon Network. They have three sons – Fin, Alden and Tristan. Lischen is in nursing school and lives in Carversville, PA with her husband Steve and three children – Brooke, Morgan and Max. Steve is the CEO of a computer technology company. Tracy has two daughters of her own – Kelly and Amy. Kelly is a stay at home mom living in Reno, Nevada with her husband, Bill, who works for the Department of Agriculture Conservation Service. They have three children – Zach, Samantha and Ian. Daughter Amy lives in Panama City, Panama. Her husband, Jorge, works for a natural resource company. They have two children – Blake and Isabella. Tracy looks forward to her trips to see her family and for the times they join her at her home in Point Pleasant, PA.
December 2009 Hooker of the Month
Sunshine Chair, Susan Woodworth
For several years Sue Woodworth accompanied her sister, Lissa Williamson, to the rug hooking camp run by Norma Batastini in Cape May, NJ. However, Sue did not hook then and spent her time knitting and working on other handwork while Lissa was attending her workshop. In 2005 Lissa insisted that Sue learn to hook. Sue attended her first rug hooking workshop that year and it was the beginning of her journey as a rug hooking artisan. Sue’s Cape May experience ignited a passion for hooking rugs. The sister who sat knitting at Cape May now attends multiple camps and workshops a year and hooks 3-4 hours most days!
Sue’s camp schedule starts in January with Off the Ocean Rug Hooking Conference run by Judy Colley and her daughter in Jacksonville, Florida. In April, she attends the Anne Arundel Maryland Guild’s Workshop, followed by the Maryland Shores Rug Hooking School in Ocean City Maryland. In June Sue will be found in Caraway, North Carolina attending Eric Sandburg’s camp. She will be at the HCRAG camp in August before heading off to Rugs by the Sea in Cape May with Norman Batastini. “I love to start a new project, as evidenced by the UFO's in the attic. But once I return from a camp with a new rug all planned, I go back to my previous rug and work it to completion. I use the camps as a means for days and nights of uninterrupted hooking without having to deal with every day chores.”
Attendance at these camps exposed Sue to many of the best instructors available today. The teachers with whom she has studied include Norma Batastini, Bev Conway, Gail Dufresne, Cindi Gay, Barb Miller, Joan Reckwerdt, Jule Marie Smith, Diane Stoffel, Judy Quintman and Faith Williston. “I have learned from each of them and been inspired by them all” says Susan.
Sue prefers to hook with #6 cuts and is attracted to “vibrant colors such as hot pinks, purples and bright blues”. She likes rug patterns that look the same regardless of the angle at which you look at the rug. While that leads to many rugs with flower motifs, Sue likes to try new things and will soon start the Oriental rug pattern Cedar Lakes. It is a Pearl McGown pattern available in Charlotte Price’s House of Price catalog. Sue first saw the rug at Eric Sandberg’s camp in North Carolina. She plans to hook it in a #6 cut rather than the more narrow cuts often used for oriental patterns.
When it comes to wool, Sue works with both recycled “as is” and new wools. She prefers to “let the professionals do the dyeing. I am willing to pay for their expertise.” Sue spends hours combing through various rug pattern catalogs looking for her next project. She makes a list and goes back and forth narrowing her selection. 
Sue tries to hook most days and usually can get five days in during the week. Her routine starts after dinner when she sits down in her kitchen where the light is good and normally hooks from 7:30 to 11:00 with the TV on in the background. The rehabilitation period following recent hand surgery was difficult since Sue was unable to hook for several weeks. “Something is missing when I do not hook.”
In 2007 an advertisement for the HCRAG camp in Rug Hooking Magazine brought our Guild to Sue’s attention. She joined the Guild and worked with Jule Marie Smith that summer. “Seeing other rug hookers and their work along with the friendships formed” are responsible for Sue’s continued involvement with HCRAG. “I am inspired by the work I see at our meetings”, says Sue. She currently serves as our Sunshine Chair. 
Sue and her husband, Jay, live in Summit, NJ. They have a son, Nicholas, and a daughter, Marian. Nicholas is a career Navy Officer living in Norfolk, Virginia with his wife, Jillian, and their 3 ½ year old daughter, Emma Grace. Marian and her husband, Rob, live in Edgewater, New Jersey. Rob works for an information technology firm and Marian is currently involved in decorating their new apartment. Jay is an economist who works with the automobile industry. He maintains his office in Glen Gardner, NJ that also houses his train collection. Sue notes that Jay has “a serious collection”. At one point, Sue had time for other hobbies, but “hooking took over”.
The rugs Sue completes are displayed at her home or given to the family. Granddaughter, Emma Grace, received Sue’s very first rug -- a simple Lib Callaway pattern. Her next rug had a train motif and went to Jay in recognition of his collection. “I never knew trains had so much wording on them!” Sue groaned. She is currently working on a rug of Whidby Island in Washington State which was Nicholas’ first active duty spot. An earlier Santa rug was given to Marian.
November 2009 Hooker of the Month
Meet Our Member—Carol Kindt
While on a house tour of the Centerbridge Artisans in Hunterdon County some years ago Carol saw some hooked rugs displayed at Mary Schenck’s “Whiskey Run Herb Farm”. This peaked her interest in fiber art. Not only were the objects pleasing to the eye but they could also be utilitarian. Carol likes things that are multi-functional. Several years passed and as luck would have it she met Kay Weeks while on a Thanksgiving in the Country house tour. Kay was demonstrating hooking at a little stone church and showed Carol some proddy items she had made. She give Carol the Guild’s brochure and invited her to come to our monthly meeting which Carol did that very same month. She was “bowled over by the beautiful work that the members were doing and by the generous sharing of information and advice they were so eager to share”. Carol knew then this was a craft that she just had to learn.
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The first rug Carol made was a small kit by Hooked on Rugs that she bought at the Guild’s white elephant sale. It featured a crow stealing an apple from an apple tree. With encouragement from the Guild members and an old craft book she had stashed away that showed the basics of rug hooking, Carol was on her way. That was so much fun that she started haunting garage sales and recycle shops looking for more wool and anything else connected to rug hooking. The second rug was self-designed which Carol hooked as a gift for her sister, Roberta. The house was the central theme and represented her sister’s last name which is Housel.
Looking back there are some things Carol would have done differently on that one but she moved on. Her next project was an adventure into fine hooking. It was a pattern by Jane McGowan-Flynn entitled “The Enchanted Forest”. She gave this one to her step-daughter, Kara, as the dog in the center of the mat reminded Carol of Kara’s dog, Iowa. After taking a one day workshop in 2007 with Susan Feller on designing fraktur style rugs, Carol found her preference leaned towards the more primitive style, larger cuts. She completed a design in that workshop and hopes one day soon to begin hooking it. Carol’s 
preference for larger size cuts was further confirmed after taking her first Guild summer camp in 2008 with teacher Jayne Hester. At camp she hooked a DiFranzia pattern entitled “The Weathervane” and Jayne was a fantastic help guiding her through the choices of colors that went into that rug. Carol gave this one to her granddaughter, Megan, because she loves horses and Carol loves her.
Carol enjoys attending Guild meetings and has “learned so much from the members and guest speakers and have yet to explore all the many facets of this fascinating fiber art.”
After working as an Administrative Assistant for upper management in a major pharmaceutical corporation for over 20 years, Carol retired in 2004 to devote more time to family and home. Ray and Carol have lived in Readington Township for over 30 years. Ray retired from the Army National Guard after over 40 years of service. They have two children, Shawn and Kara. Shawn, an engineer with the City of Tacoma, WA lives with his wife, 
Kelly and two children, Aaron (age 13) and Megan (age 10) in Bonney Lake. Kara, is employed with Elite Air, Inc. and is studying towards a degree in nursing. She lives in St. Petersburg, FL with her husband, Charlie and son, Ryan (age 4).
Carol is an avid photographer and when she is not looking for that next best picture, working on hooking project, scrapbooking, crafting or day tripping with Ray, she has got her nose buried in a book. Carol currently serves as the Guild’s Chair for Special Events.
September 2009 Hooker of the Month
Meet Our Founder – Jo Knobloch
This month we recognize and celebrate Jo Knobloch, who was responsible for establishing the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild in April 1977. This is her story in her words. “It is amazing how events in our lives plot a course for us to journey through without a conscious plan on our part.
Having lived on a farm during the Depression, survival techniques were a way of life. My parents did everything by hand. Even though there was a dearth and sometimes no money, Mom never ceased to beautify our home with her creativity. The floors were always covered with rugs she had made, starting with the early shag kind that were sewn on by machine. Later she crocheted rag rugs and then got into hooking and designing her own pieces. Our parlor, sitting room and dining room were covered with her braided rugs.
It was not until we left home that we realized how fortunate we were to have been raised in this environment, especially during a depression. I am telling you this, because this is my background. I learned to do so many techniques from her.
Included in my background was also music. I played Bass Viol for six years in the concert band and orchestra and in a Jazz Combo and had an opportunity to play for dances at our school. I was always in the school chorus and took lessons in singing for several years. Dad paid for these lessons with apples, potatoes, etc. On occasion, I did solo work at various functions. My impossible dream was always to some day study voice professionally, but with not two pennies to rub together, this was just a hope to fantasize about.
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At 17, I left home to enter St. Elizabeth’s Nursing School in Utica, NY. At that time, there were three careers open for females -- teaching, secretarial, or nursing. When I graduated as a Registered Nurse, our country was at war and I joined the Service as an Army Air Force Nurse and was stationed at the Mountain Home Army Air Force Base in Mountain Home, Idaho from 1943 to 1945. My Chief Nurse was 42 and I was 21. She was from Maine and was an avid knitter. She taught me to knit in the two years I was with her. While in the service I did some solo work for the church and sang for the troops on occasion with the Air Force Band.
My husband and I entered college at Syracuse University in 1946. He had been a pilot before the war, and during the war served in the Air Transport Command in the African and Indian Theatres for three years. When he returned from overseas, he had an airplane accident six months after we were married, while flying a P 38. It exploded on its final approach when landing at Love Field, Texas and he was severely enough injured for the physician in charge to tell me that he would not live the night out. I was given a leave to take care of him for three weeks, until he was well enough to be shipped home. He was in a cast for nine months and the end result was that his flying career was over and he would have to be trained for a new career. We now have been married 65 years.
We graduated in 1950, my husband with a Bachelors in Art Education and I with a Bachelors in Music, with a Major in Voice. My dream of studying voice professionally had materialized and I was now a Mezzo Soprano and was able to sing in four languages and do some operatic arias composed for Mezzo Sopranos. Salaries were still low, so I ended up working in a doctor’s office for eight years, before going back to college and getting my Masters and a CAS in Music Education. I taught music and was a choral conductor in the public schools of New York State, Maryland, and New Jersey for 12 years.
Making things with my hands has always interested me, so while teaching I took night courses through Hunterdon County Adult Education in weaving, basket making, and country tin painting. My daughter taught me to paint with acrylics. We started taking classes from every nationally known teacher we could find and afford. To date we have been painting together for nearly 29 years and formed a little business called “Jo and Karen”. This is our 25th year participating in shows together, as well as our own annual house shows. (See Jo's Folk Art "cat" bowl above. This was done as a study piece).
When I retired from teaching in 1970, there was a notice in the Hunterdon Democrat that Adult Education and the Office On Aging had applied for a grant and needed a volunteer coordinator to put the grant into action. With my background, I thought this was something that I could handle, so I applied and was accepted. My job was to canvas the county and find out what art and craft courses Seniors would like to learn, find Master Teachers who could teach the desired classes and find locations within the County where the classes could be held.
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The demand for classes was unbelievable. Where one class was scheduled, it was not unusual to add three or four to accommodate demand. Not only did I find teachers for requested arts and crafts, I found teachers for media that I thought would and should be of interest.
Rug hooking was a request and I was given a lead that there was a person named Penny Waring, who hooked rugs. She not only hooked rugs, but braided them also. She taught everywhere in the county, awakening an amazing interest through her teaching ability, her knowledge and her dedication to her craft.
Monies for free classes gave out in a year. It was obvious that many would be unable to continue. I presented a proposal to the Director of Adult Education to establish a Guild for the purpose of preserving the cultural heritage of traditional rug hooking. It would be self sustaining, requiring an annual payment of minimal dues, which would be used to pay for guest instructors. He agreed and the Guild was granted the use of the Meeting Room in the Hunterdon County Library on the second Friday of each month for its meetings. In turn the Guild would hold exhibits and demonstrations within the library.
In addition to the Rug Artisans Guild, a Patchwork and Quilting, Needlework, and Knitting Guild were formed in the same manner, holding their meetings on the other three Fridays of the month.
Due to the success of this project, called “Project Arts and Crafts for Hunterdon Aging”, with the acronym “PACHA”, I was offered a full time position as Special Projects Coordinator for Adult Education and was employed by them for 10 years, after which I retired in 1983.
We were able to put on three “Festival of Guilds”, which were held in the gymnasium of the Junior High School at Hunterdon Central every other year from 1978 to 1982. The work of the members was on exhibition and vendors were available, along with guest instructors. Joan Moshimer was one of our guests.
When the various Guilds and other art and craft classes started producing their work, I approached the Director, telling him that I thought we had sufficient variety and quantity to start an Outlet Store. Once again, the Director supported the idea and was helpful in locating a building for this outlet and thus was born Golden Talents, which was located in Liberty Village for 19 years and nine years in Turntable Junction. After 28 years, it closed its doors in 2004.
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Around 1983, the library changed personnel and the guilds were notified that they could no longer meet in its meeting room, so they were scattered about the county. In the mid 1980s a revamping of the State Adult Education Program resulted in Adult Education becoming a component of a larger organization – Educational Services Commission (ESC). The guilds were granted use of the Commissions’ facilities and eventually able to procure facilities within the Flemington area for their meetings. I retired in 1983, but returned in 1993 as a volunteer helping the Guilds and Golden Talents.
For 10 years I hosted a weekly radio program, sponsored by the Office On Aging and aired out of the Communications Center at Hunterdon County Regional High School. My guests were always artists and artisans, who would explain and talk about their artistic involvement. When I came back as a volunteer, the Communications Center now had a TV Station and I was able to host a TV program, called “Artistic Talents of Hunterdon” for another 10 years. One of my programs was a two part presentation on the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild.
Six years ago, I retired for the third time. The guilds keep in touch and generously invite me to their functions and keep me abreast of their activities, which I appreciate immensely, as they are all my children. Each guild celebrated their 32nd year of existence this year. It is such a pleasure to see the level of sophistication that they have arrived at and to witness their continued enthusiasm for preserving the cultural heritage of their art form, not only by executing traditional patterns from the past, but by designing their own patterns. These pieces will become historic examples of the 20th Century’s contribution to traditional rug hooking for the future.
It has been such a joy to live in Hunterdon and to have been involved with all the artists and artisans over the past some 30 years and to have been able to utilize and share the artistic talents that I had been fortunate enough to have been exposed to throughout my life span. Working with all the talented people gave me an opportunity to continue to learn new techniques also and made it possible for me to make wonderful friendships that I will forever treasure. My cup runneth over.”
Meet Our Member – Cathy Edwards
June 2009 Hooker of the Month
During a trip through North Carolina with her husband, Chuck, in the mid 1990s, Cathy spotted a store advertising “Hooked Rugs by Local Mountain Women”. She was curious and stopped in. Inside there were beautiful rugs (she had never seen a hooked rug before) which were made by the local women. At this point, Cathy does not remember whether they were hooked with yarn or wool – just that they were very expensive and the thought entered her mind that she would like to find someone to teach her how to hook. Several years later, at the annual “Victorian Days” in Belvidere NJ, she happened upon a woman doing a dye demonstration and exhibiting several hooked rugs. She had a list of local teachers which included Margaret Lutz. Cathy called Margaret and set up a lesson. That was the beginning of her rug hooking journey and her friendship with Margaret as well as the other women she met through Margaret’s informal weekly hook-in that she had at her home.
Cathy likes diversity in her hooking projects and has an eclectic style. She has hooked geometrics, pictorials, and florals and is currently working on a piece inspired by crewelwork. She hooks in #3 to #8 cuts. Cathy tends to hook commercially available patterns, although she did design her “Love Rug” for granddaughter Madelyn.
Cathy is a regular at Gail Dufresne’s Goal Hill Studio in Lambertville, NJ. Beside the expert instruction and advice she receives from Gail, she enjoys the camaraderie of the group. “It is also wonderful to have available to me the most wonderful wool which Gail provides.” Cathy is also a regular attendee of HCRAG camp. She has taken workshops with Helen Wolfel, Susan Feller, Michele Micarelli and Sherri Heiber-Day at camp in addition to workshops with Cynthia Norwood, Jackie Hansen and Elizabeth Black.
Whenever possible, Cathy hooks every day. Hooking late in the afternoon normally works best for her. When the errands and daily activities are done, she can sit at her frame and hook for a couple of hours before it is time to prepare dinner. Cathy gets more hooking done during the winter months than during the summer when outside activities demand her attention.
Like so many members, Cathy learned about the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild from Margaret Lutz and from Sharon Ballard whom she met in Margaret’s hooking group. She joined the Guild right after she started hooking in 1998. After 11 years, Cathy still finds the Guild as a source of new ideas, inspiration and camaraderie. “I like the women I have met there. They are friendly and supportive and we share a love of hooking”. Cathy observes that “rug hookers take delight in the accomplishments of their peers. There is no competition.”
Supporting her church, tending to her perennial flower beds, improving her golf game and visiting her grandchildren are other priorities for Cathy. She has been a religious education teacher for over 13 years and serves as a Eucharistic Minister. Cathy is also a serious gardener. With seven acres of property, she has all the room needed for extensive gardening. During the summer, Cathy works on improving her golf game and spending time with her golfing buddies. She has been an active member of Harkers Hollow Golf Club for the last seventeen years and has held several positions in the Ladies 
Association.
Chuck and Cathy live in Harmony, NJ. Chuck is Executive Vice-President with Micro Stamping Group of Companies involved with contract manufacturing in the medical and automotive industries. They have four children – Michelle, Michael, Melissa and Gregg. Michelle, the oldest, lives in San Francisco with her husband Ray. They are both attorneys. Michael, an engineer, lives in Greenville SC with his wife Julie and their two children, Madelyn (age 7) and Nathan (age 5). Melissa, also an engineer, lives in Fairfax, Va. with her husband Bob and two sons, Trevor (age 7) and Jeremy (age 6). Their youngest son, Gregg, who is a planning analyst, is single and living in Phillipsburg, NJ.
Creating family heirlooms is how Cathy sees the rugs she hooks and shares with her family. Cathy’s parents died early in life and did not leave items that traditionally become treasures. That will not be the case for Cathy’s family. Each of her children and grandchildren has at least one of her rugs. She likes to “hook something special and personal in each rug”. Normally it is a message worked into the 
background but is hard to detect unless you know where to look. A rug inspired by a Currier & Ives print “American Express Train” and hooked for grandson Nathan, has the wording “I love you” hooked in the clouds. This rug won an “Honorable Mention Award” in the 2007 Celebration sponsored by Rug Hooking Magazine. Cathy’s “Love Rug” was hooked for granddaughter Madelyn, and was featured in the February/March 2008 issue of the ATHA Newsletter. This rug was designed during a workshop with Susan Feller in 2006. Cathy shared the rug with the Guild during a “show and tell” portion of one of our meetings. We were all amazed to learn that she hooked the rug so that all the tails were hidden!
Cathy Edwards is a talented artisan who strives to have her most recent rug better than the one before it and who finds rug hooking a source of enrichment in her life on so many levels. We are fortunate to have her in our Guild.
Meet Our Member – Lydia Lewis
May 2009 Hooker of the Month
In 1990 Lydia Lewis was on a bus trip traveling throughout England with her garden club. She had herknitting along with her to help pass the time. Two of the other women on the trip admired her work and mentioned that they were rug hookers. Lydia’s reaction was “I don’t think I can do that”. However, she was intrigued and agreed to join them at a meeting of the Bux-Mont Guild when they returned home. After the meeting she bought a small kit and “fell in love with hooking”.
Lydia is basically a self taught artisan. She did have a two hour lesson with Betsy Coleman where she learned the fundamentals. Betsy was an “avid hooker” recalls Lydia. Her first project was a pineapple chair pad. Lydia became a member of the Bux-Mont Guild where she received help and encouragement. Workshops at the Highlands, Marathon, Florida with B.J. Andreas and the Outer Banks, North Carolina with Bev Conway helped to round out her knowledge and understanding of rug hooking. At one workshop, Lydia was working on a rug with a Swiss cow and a mountain. The instructor arbitrarily said “Take it out!” referring to the mountain and, needless to say, Lydia was not impressed. However, she was impressed by Hildegarde von Tenspolde's guidance when hooking Eleanor's Garden. Hildegarde and Betsy Coleman are among those who have been most influential in Lydia’s development as a rug hooking artisan.
When it comes to rug hooking styles, Lydia’s work defies simple categorization. She prefers to hook with #6 cuts, but does work with #4 and #5 cuts too. “I like to try new things”, she says. Her rugs include stain glass images, geometric patterns and lots of pictorials. Lydia prefers to design her own patterns, mostly from every day images. Her stain glass rugs were inspired by a churchin Florida. She designed a rug based on her father’s favorite sweatshirt. A zoo animal rug was inspired because of a fund raiser fair featuring a petting zoo and exotic animal lectures for the benefit of Friends Home and Village in Newtown, PA. Scratches on her washer and dryer inspired rugs to be placed over the scratches. A wine bottle rug with real corks was completed for her husband. Lydia notes that many of her rug ideas come to her as she is falling asleep at night. Pattern ideas also come to her from magazines, note cards and photos.
Lydia prefers to work with new wool. “It is beautiful and easy to work with”, she says. Much of the wool she acquires comes from Dorr in response to ads in rug hooking magazines. She does some dyeing, but “it is not my thing”. Lydia uses a lot of recycled garments, but avoids men’s sport coats since “there is not much wool”.
A day is not complete without working on a hooking project. Lydia tries to hook for several hours every day. Most of the hooking is done at nights while she is watching TV. During the winter when the weather is bad, she will hook during the day too. July and August are also major hooking times for Lydia. That is when she and her husband, Paul, spend time in their place in the Poconos. Lydia always takes a hooking project along.
Margaret Brightbill encouraged Lydia to come to a HCRAG meeting for sometime. She resisted because she belonged to several groups and did not want to spread herself too thin. Lydia came to her first meeting last year and joined the Guild at that meeting. “I found Guild members friendly and open”. She immediately became involved and volunteered to coordinate a hooking demonstration in Langhorne, PA this year and will be one of the team teaching the 4-H club this month. She will be attending her first HCRAG camp in August. Lydia has also become active with the “Hooksome and Chatmore” group.
Lydia does not sell her rugs but does donate them to local charitable organizations for fund raisers and gives them as gifts – especially to her family. Each grandchild has a Winnie Pooh rug. Lydia’s husband, Paul, is a retired banker. “Paul is very understanding”, says Lydia. “He is allergic to wool!” Paul and Lydia have two sons – Justin and William. Justin lives in his hometown of Newtown. He works for Newtown Township, is a volunteer fireman and has his own lawn mowing business. Justin is working toward his fire science degree at Bucks County Community College. William lives in Holland, PA with his wife Elizabeth and their two children -- Connor, age 8, and Evelyn, age 6. William and Elizabeth are 
graduates of the Johnson & Wales Culinary School in Providence, RI. Will is a chef at the Knight House in Doylestown, PA and Elizabeth has an" in house" dessert business.
The creative qualities found in Lydia’s rugs find their origins in her other interests and activities. For 18 years she worked at a floral shop where she designed and arranged floral arrangements. She now designs floral arrangements at home and will create flowers for weddings, parties and funerals. Lydia has been involved with the renowned Philadelphia Flower Show since 1980 when her mother first had a display at the show under Countryside Gardens which was started 76 years ago by her grandmother. Lydia and her partner Geri Williams won several ribbons for their work in medium niches. Lydia also had a stenciling business that she ran from her home. Lydia serves on the Board of the Friends Home and Village, a Quaker retirement home in Newtown. Paul and Lydia are members of Middletown Meeting in Langhorne, PA. She enjoys bridge, tennis, weaving, knitting and is a member of the Penns New Towne Questers group. Her career started as a 1st Grade teacher which she loved, but “retired” before her children were born.
Lydia is a multitalented member who brings so much to the Guild. We are fortunate to have her as a member.
Meet Our Sunshine Chair – Lib Ryman
April 2009 Hooker of the Month
Lib Ryman is one of the charter members of our Guild. She started hooking in early 1977, just a few months before the Guild was founded. Lib was actually looking for an activity for her mother when she saw a brochure published by the Hunterdon County Adult Education Program. There was a write up on a rug hooking class that she suggested to her mother. Her mother agreed to attend as long as Lib came too. Penny Hayes was the instructor. Lib’s mother hooked a chair mat and then stopped. Lib continued on her own and has been hooking ever since. Shortly after the workshop, Jo Knobloch, who was responsible for the adult education programs, established the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild in April 1977. Other than two periods of three year breaks when Lib and her husband lived in up state New York and Florida, she has been an active member. Over the years, she has held various Guild positions. In the past year, Lib served as our Sunshine Chair.
Hooking with #6 – 8 cuts is preferred, although Lib hooks with finer cuts as well. Wider cuts are often associated with primitive style hooking. That is not the case with Lib. She is “all over depending on the project.” For example, Lib hooked a deacon’s bench seat cover for her daughter that included all of the six houses she lived in and the three churches she attended. Narrow cut wool was needed for the detail found in such a pattern. Initially, Lib worked with patterns she purchased. Now she designs her own. She has designed rugs and pillows with family houses and other familiar images. Rugs with “circles and odd shapes” are creative ways Lib uses strips left over from other rugs. Her next project will be a 19’ hallway runner requested by her daughter! Lib estimates that it will take two years to complete.
“Using cast-offs to make something beautiful” appeals to Lib. When the Visiting Nurses have their rummage sale, Lib is there and “makes a beeline to the clothing”. She has accumulated enough wool to meet her needs and limits new purchases to “interesting colors or white for dyeing”. Lib has always dyed her wool, but does not do as much of it as she once did. When she gets the dye pots out, Lib tends not to follow formulas. She experiments and likes to surprise herself. “Look what I got!”
In the early 1990s Lib and her husband began thinking about moving into a retirement community. Moving was put on hold when her husband was tragically killed in an automobile accident in 1994. Lib found that her rug hooking and painting kept her busy and “was the key to survival.” In 1996, Lib moved into the Fellowship Village Continuing Care Retirement Community in Basking Ridge, NJ. It did not take long before her enthusiasm for rug hooking spread within her community. . She started a small group that meets on Mondays to sit, talk and hook.
Lib hooks most days. Her hooking frame is up in the living room all the time. She “cannot sit and do nothing”. In the evenings she will hook while watching TV. Monday she hooks with her community group.
Over the years, Lib has attended hooking camps at Buckeystown, MD, Shelburne, VT and one in Nova Scotia. Her daughter Patti and son-in law Bill joined her one year when she went to Maine to hook with Marion Hamm. “Bill did his thing while Patti and I hooked.” He joined them for dinner in Marion’s home. Lib used a #9 cut for the first time when she worked with Marion. 
When asked why she has continued to attend Guild meetings for all these years, Lib sums it up by saying “I get new ideas from what others are doing. I am inspired by what I see and enjoy seeing old friends. It is a nice thing to do. I always come home wanting to do something different after seeing what others have done.”
To say that Lib has multiple talents is an understatement! In addition to hooking, she is an active gardener, although her recent shoulder replacement surgery has slowed her gardening down somewhat. Painting is another passion. Lib works with watercolor, oil, pastels and pen/ink. She paints everything but portraits. Lib could not bring her piano with her when she moved into the retirement community, but did buy a keyboard. For a while she was a knitter, but stopped when a sweater for her husband turned out much too long. Lib says “I will die with a list of things I still want to learn and do.”
Lib has three daughters – Kathy (oldest), Gail and Patti (youngest). Kathy and her husband, Steve, live in Pennsylvania. Their son, Ken, and daughter-in-law, Leslie, have Lib’s first great granddaughter, Jaiden. Gail and her husband, Bill, live in Virginia with their children Justin and Nicole. Youngest daughter, Patti, and her husband, Bill, live in Tennessee with two adopted children, Vasyl and Ivan, who were born in the Ukraine. All of Lib’s daughters have rugs hooked by their mother. Each grandchild has what Lib calls a “learning rug” -- rugs that include their name, birth date, the alphabet and numbers. 
Meet Our Webmaster, Laurie Rubinetti
March 2009 Hooker of the Month
Laurie’s introduction to rug hooking actually came about through rug braiding. When her son was one year old, Laurie was looking for a creative outlet and noticed a book on braided rugs. She taught 
herself how to braid and went on to complete a considerable number of braided rugs. She met long-time rug braiding teacher Nancy Young rummaging through a pile of wool remnants at a mill end store in Catasaqua, PA. and later took many classes with Nancy (http://www.rugbraidingcamp.com/). From time to time, Laurie is asked to teach rug braiding. In 1996 she saw her first hooked rugs and “fell in love with them”. Her daughter was in kindergarten at the time, so Laurie had time to start a new activity. She responded to an advertisement for a beginners’ rug hooking workshop sponsored by Hunterdon County Adult Education. Norma McElhenny was the instructor and fortuitously was also the President of HCRAG.
Laurie admires all forms of rug hooking. She hooks mainly with wide cuts in the primitive style and is attracted to what she calls “wild designs”, self portraits and modern/abstract images. Her first rug was hooked on a purchased pattern. After that she designed the balance of her rugs herself. Laurie is inspired by the things around her. One of her first rugs was based on a drawing done by her daughter who was six or seven years old at the time. That rug is called "Happy Day" (pictured at the bottom of this article.) Subsequent rugs were of her dog that had passed away, her cat and a close up from a photo of sunflowers in her garden.
As the principal of Lola Design, a small graphic and web design business, Laurie finds that growing her business is not a 9-5 job. She devotes most days to her business which does not leave much time for other interests. Laurie seems to work on her rugs “in spurts”. She “gets into the mood” and hooks intensely. Vacations and our camps are often a good time for her to get out her hooking frame and work on a rug. The project may then be put aside for a while. As a result, it may take a couple of years for Laurie to complete a rug. Many of her rugs are finished with a braided edge.
Laurie has attended about five HCRAG Camps over the years. She has studied with Norma Batastini, Gail Dufresne and Jayne Hester. Laurie draws inspiration from other rug hookers and “loves the rugs created by Barbara Lugg”. “Guild members are real artists” says Laurie. “The design and placement of color takes artistic skills. Painting with wool is difficult.”
Laurie is a self proclaimed “thrift shop junkie”. She has collected lots of wool, most of which is from recycled garments. However, if she sees new wool that she likes, she will buy it. Laurie likes to dye wool. She “experiments” rather than following set formulas. She prefers Cushing dyes, but also uses ProChem dyes. The dye pot is pulled out when she needs wool for a project. 
Since Laurie’s first instructor was the Guild’s President, it was natural that she would be introduced to and join the Guild. Gail Dufresne was the Guild’s Vice President. Laurie has maintained her membership for 13 years and continues to gain inspiration from the rugs hooked by members. In late 2007 Laurie offered to create and maintain a website for the Guild. By early 2008, www.hcrag.com was up and running! The site has been enormously helpful in bringing our Guild to the attention of the rug hooking community. It also helps establish instant credibility with non-members who have interest in our camps, workshops and activities. Last year, Laurie was the first recipient of the Madeline Brightbill Camp Scholarship in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the Guild.
Laurie, who loves to garden, lives in Milford, NJ with her husband, Peter, and their two children – Vincent and Elena. Peter is a computer programmer with a large insurance company and is a musician who plays the guitar. Vincent is studying engineering at the University of Delaware and shares his father’s musical talents. He plays the drums and keyboard as well as composes music. Elena is a Delaware Valley Regional High School sophomore, a member of the JV basketball team, a Peer Leader and “mostly a social butterfly”.
Our Guild is extremely fortunate to have Laurie Rubinetti as our member and webmaster.
Meet Our Members – Deanna Kinney & Joan Lucas
February 2009 Hookers of the Month
Deanna Kinney
Deanna was a stay at home mom and had lots of time to work on her old house, refinish furniture, paint, stencil and decorate. She also did a lot of handwork and “tried almost anything”. She especially liked quilting and crocheting.
Deanna and her husband collected antiques and attended many shows. At one show in the late 1980s, she met Lillian Vail and her husband, Bill. When Lillian invited her to a rug show at the Everittstown Church, Deanna was happy to go. At that point, the only 
knowledge she had of old rugs was that she could not afford them. The day of the show she was amazed at the talents of all the women and how friendly and helpful they all were. They said anyone could hook but Deanna had her doubts. She was invited to come to the hooking group at the Church on Thursdays. In no time Deanna “was hooked”.
Lillian started her with a wooden frame with thumbtacks, a pig on burlap and some pink and gray wool. She went right home and worked on it until the hooking was finished. Not knowing how to finish the edges, she trimmed it close to the last row of hooking just like she did on quilting projects. Of course, it started to unravel. Not knowing what to do, Deanna put gray duct tape on the edges and finished it that way. It held up for many years. When it got too worn for the house, the rug was put it in the garage and used to wipe her feet before getting in the car. After her husband passed away, Deanna decided to sell some things at auction. She put auction items in the garage for a while to see if she could really part with them. A few things made it back in the house. The men from the auction house came and picked up the items to be auctioned and unknown to her they took the pig rug too. When Deanna and her family attended the auction, they were surprised to see the pig rug listed as a" primitive rug". It sold for $70 and they still talk about it!
Deanna bought a used frame and cutter from Hildegard Von Tenspole. “Hildegard was a great teacher and I learned a lot from her” says Deanna. “Helen Buchanan, Fanny Whitenack, Priscilla Sockwell and all the others were wonderful to me. So many of the women are gone now, but I have wonderful memories of them.”
Primitive rug hooking is Deanna’s favorite style. She buys patterns or draws them--whatever catches her eye. She finds that “If I love the pattern I can finish it quickly but, if not, it takes me forever.” Deanna likes to use recycled wool best. She will dye when she has to and prefers to use Dump n’ Dye products.
Deanna has attended two rug hooking camps sponsored by the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild and was impressed with the wonderful work the others were doing. S
he worked with Sandy Chevery and Helen Wolfel. “Helen is the best! - very patient and comfortable to be around” notes Deanna.
Before her husband passed away, Deanna hooked every day and always had the next rug ready to start the minute the last one was completed. Her work schedule now limits the time she has available although she is able to do some hooking at the Lebanon Township Museum where she works as assistant curator two and a half days a week with Joan Lucas. “How great is it when you get to work in a wonderful place like the museum and have Joan Lucas to work and hook with. Together we come up with some great projects, sometimes we dye all day and are always surprised with what we come up with. Of course we can never come up with the same color twice.”
Deanna enjoys hooking rugs for her three children and three grandchildren. Her oldest son, Ron, lives in Port Murray, NJ with his wife Kelly and their 8 year old daughter Catherine. Son Jeff and his wife Lori live in Lebanon, NJ with their daughter Morgan and son Sean. Daughter Diane lives in Clinton with her husband Rich and their two kittens. They all get a kick out of deciding which rug they would like. When hooking rugs for others, Deanna says that “Sometimes I feel like a surrogate hooker when I hook for other people but I don't get attached to the project as I do if it's my own.”
Deanna joined our Guild in the late 1980s. Sometimes she has to work on Fridays, but in past year she has been able to attend most meetings. Deanna also loves scherenschnitte, needle felting, punch needle, antiques, stain glass and anything country.
Joan Lucas
When it comes to rug hooking, Joan claims “I have probably done everything wrong that can be done and do some of it still!” Her motto is that “Rug hooking is good for your hands. There is lanolin in the 
wool!”
She learned about hooking from Janell Harjes about 20 years ago. Her first project was a chair pad. Janell said: “draw it – hook it” and that is what Joan did and continues to do. She enjoys making useful things from “old stuff”. Joan is attracted to primitive style projects and prefers making small things to put on mantles, cupboards and table tops. Recycled wool from Janell is still being used for chair pads. Someone gave Joan a pattern of a hen and chickens on burlap backing and it seemed huge at the time. A blanket from her mother was used for the background and was hooked on a $5 frame with large thumbtacks. Joan always went to yard sales and thrift shops, but now had a reason to look for wool using everything “as is”. Joan rarely, if ever, buys new wool. Several years ago, Joan studied with Helen Wolfel at the Guild’s rug hooking camp.
There are times when Joan does not know what to hook, so she turns to books, magazines and children’s books as well as things around her for ideas. She also checks her supply of wools and asks herself “What can I make with this color?” One day she found a piece of purple wool and made a chair pad with thistles for a friend. Joan observes that she cooks like that too – “What can I make with the ingredients I have on hand. I guess I am like a crazy quilt.”
Joan was the oldest of six children – “part of a poor farmer’s family growing up in the late 30s and 40s”. She graduated from high school in the late 50s, married young and had five children. She was a stay at home mom and
“g
ave my kids the things I did not have – ice cream in the freezer and three good meals a day.” When her youngest child was in school, Joan wanted to get a job outside the house and worked part time in a local nursing home and became a certified activities director.
About 23 years ago she helped out at the Lebanon Township Museum and is now its curator. Joan and Deanna conduct programs and entertain there two and a half days a week all year long. Joan notes that “Since God gave us two ears to hear with and with only one mouth to speak with, we are great listeners, and are able to be of some comfort to many visitors by listening to their tragedies, heartaches, illnesses and also to rejoice when there are weddings, babies, and good news. It is rewarding to think that maybe we helped some, just by listening.” The hooking that Joan and Deanna do at the museum is not only creative and satisfying to them, but inspires others to be hookers too.
For the past 43 years, Joan and her husband, Don, have lived in their Victorian home in the historic village of New Hampton that is within walking distance of the museum. Joan muses that they “raised five kids with only one bathroom”. Joan also works two days a week as a library clerk at the Bunnvale Library.
Joan “loves coming to Guild meetings. I am in awe at all I see.” Joan and Deanna were responsible for arranging the Guild’s rug exhibit at the Lebanon Township Museum last fall. The former one room school house was an ideal site to display our handcrafted rugs. The Guild and the rug hooking community are indebted to Joan and Deanna for the exposure gained from the exhibit.
Meet Our Members – Mary Jo & Karl Gimber
January 2009 Hookers of the Month
Mary Jo and Karl Gimber have admired the decorative arts from the 18th and 19th Centuries for as long as they can remember. Their formal introduction to hooked rugs came in 2003 when they purchased a Christmas mat at a local auction. It turned out that Edith Prundeanu, who hooked the mat, was at the auction and introduced herself. They learned that Edith was about to start a beginners’ workshop at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown. Both signed up. “Edith was a perfect instructor for us” says Mary Jo. “She was supportive and encouraging and had few hard and fast rules.”
Mary Jo and Karl work as a team. While they both hook, Mary Jo designs most of their rugs and Karl does most of the hooking. They do not use commercial patterns. Both are attracted to primitive style rugs and hook with cuts ranging from #6 to #9 with an occasional #4 or # 5 cut used for detailing or 
outlining. They work almost exclusively with recycled “as is” wool. Karl volunteers at a local thrift store where he finds many of the woolen garments that end up in their rugs. He and Mary Jo regularly visit several other thrift stores in the search for old woolen garments. The Lambertville Flea Market is another favorite source for them.
Guild member Margaret Brightbill spent an afternoon teaching them the fundamentals of dyeing wool. Mary Jo will occasionally pull out the dye equipment and spend an afternoon dyeing wool, sometimes with a specific project in mind. Last year they were given some new wool that had already been dyed and cut into strips. They are always tempted by the beautiful new wool they see when attending hook-ins and workshops.
Neither Mary Jo nor Karl attend many classes, but they have attended a few open studio sessions, week-end workshops at the Highlands and HCRAG summer camps. In 2006, they participated in the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild workshops at Shelburne Museum. They have enjoyed the opportunity to work with Gail Dufresne, Susan Feller, Lucille Festa, Rae Harrell, Jayne Hester, Karen Kahle, Kay Levan, Michele Micarelli, Jule Marie Smith and Helen Wolfel. They both feel privileged to be able to learn from such talented and knowledgeable instructors.
The Gimber’s interest in early American history is reflected in the rugs they design and hook. Mary Jo and Karl have been working on a series of rugs adapted from old tavern, trade and farm signs. (They have completed over 50 rugs so far.) Sometimes they find an image of an old sign that Mary Jo adapts for the rug pattern. Other times, they come across only the tavern name and Mary Jo creates the design. Books on old taverns and folk art are often used as sources. Auction catalogs and publications dealing with antiques have a
lso been rich resources for them. Karl enjoys searching out tavern names. When visiting museums and historical sites, he often spends time in their libraries researching new ideas. They are especially looking for tavern names that are in the form of a rebus or with an interesting story. “There are a lot of taverns named after the owners such as “Smith’s Inn” that do not lend themselves to a creative image.” notes Karl.
When looking at the projects they hook, Karl observes that “Mary Jo needs more variation in style, subject matter and technique than I do. I am pretty fixed (and content) in what I want to do. Mary Jo likes to experiment. She does traditional rug hooking, proddy, sculpting, regular punch-needle and miniature punch-needle.”
Karl tries to hook every day. He routinely sits down to watch the news in the late afternoon or early evening and starts his hooking for the day. He normally hooks 2-4 hours a day. If the weather is inclement and prevents him from doing outside work, he may start to hook earlier in the day. Mary Jo has periods when she hooks a lot and periods when her time is devoted to her other creative activities. When she is in a rug hooking mode, her routine is similar to Karl’s.
HCRAG was first mentioned to the Gimbers by Margaret Brightbill. Mary Jo and Karl were impressed by the Guild’s sampler project that Margaret was working on. Mary Jo attended the November 2003 meeting and asked whether the Guild was receptive to having a male member. The Guild president and members responded “Yes!” Karl came to the December holiday luncheon with Mary Jo and has not missed a meeting since! He says that he “likes being with people who share his interest in hooking rugs and learns and is inspired by what others are doing.” Both Mary Jo and Karl have supported the Guild in many ways. Mary Jo served as Vice President and Program Director from 2006 to early 2008. During her tenure, she began the annual hooking retreat, organized a successful hook-in and planned many new and creative programs. She also organized and installed multiple rug shows in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which included festival/fair, library and museum venues. Karl produces the Guild’s newsletter, The Loop, and handles PR and other administrative functions. He also demonstrates at several local festivals. Mary Jo and Karl have enjoyed hosting teachers while in the area teaching at camps and workshops. They are also members of the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild and the Goat Hill ATHA Chapter where they will be speaking in January.
The Gimbers do not sell their rugs, but do enjoy exhibiting and talking about them. Several of their creations have been on display at the year long juried exhibit at the Lancaster Heritage Center in 
Lancaster in 2008. They have donated rugs for fundraising efforts for local museums and historical societies. Mary Jo and Karl have been invited to talk about their rugs at Guilds in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont and West Virginia as well as at local historical/civic groups. Their rugs were featured in the June/July/August 2006 issue of Rug Hooking Magazine and are included in Contemporary Hooked Rugs by Linda Rae Coughlin, Hooked Rugs Today by Amy Oxford and Rags to Rugs by Patricia Herr.
Mary Jo and Karl have many interests in common and others they pursue on their own. They both enjoy early American history and the decorative arts of the period, travelling, antiquing and flea marketing. Mary Jo has been involved with art and textiles since childhood. She attended Saturday art classes at the Cincinnati Art Museum where she learned drawing and sculpting in clay. Her interests include quilt history, Pennsylvania German arts and culture, art history, drawing and painting (oil, pastel, mixed media and watercolors). She is a juried member of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration (HSEAD). Karl has a strong interest in the period of the American Revolution and has been collecting books on the subject for over 30 years. He volunteers at local historical sites where he gives tavern tours and portrays the fictional character Pliny Freeman, who now in his 60s recalls when he was a 12 year old drummer boy with General George Washington at the crossing of the Delaware River prior to the Battle of Trenton in1776. Karl also portrays the role of a Pennsylvania German itinerant peddler “Liniment Renninger” at several Pennsylvania German festivals.
Meet Our Member! Connie Coleman
December 2008 Hooker of the Month
Connie grew up in a “Rhode Island Yankee household” where handiwork was the custom. Both her mother and father were very creative. Her father was a professional photographer and took many photographs of her mother hooking. She worked with a group instructed by Dot Galey. Many in that group worked with recycled wool garments that were over dyed. As was common in the 1950s, most of the rugs were done in a narrow cut with beautiful shading. Connie fondly remembers her mother’s 
hooking frame being up all the time and cutting wool for her projects. Her bedroom was decorated around a rug designed and hooked by her mother. Using a frame made by her father, Connie tried hooking a chair seat mat, but never completed the project.
Making all her own clothing during high school inspired Connie to attend design school. She wanted to be an artist but received little encouragement from her guidance counselor. This was a time when academic emphasis was placed on the sciences to support the new space program and the arts were not considered of value. However, her parents sent her to Saturday classes at the Rhode Island School of Design. Connie later attended the Boston Museum School for her freshman year and then transferred to the Textile Program at the Rhode Island School of Design. When she graduated in 1970 there were few jobs, so she started working as a production handweaver using a floor loom given to her as a graduation present from her parents.
Connie became involved with the Rhode Island Craftsman’s Guild where she was one of three professional weavers in the state. She also started teaching at Rhode Island College as a “fiber artist” - a new term at the time. That work led to being hired as a designer for a major manufacturer of knit fabrics working in their sampling plant. She worked as a Jacquard designer and “loved the challenge of the intricate patterns.” The American craft movement was underway and Connie’s personal work was accepted in major juried shows throughout New England giving her a lot of exposure. She started giving workshops and helped establish the first Rhode Island Craftsman’s Fair. Her weavings sold, but did not generate sufficient income. Connie decided to teach and returned to Rhode Island School of Design where she earned her Masters Degree. From 1974-1976 she was the Rhode Island Arts Council’s Craftsman in Residence under a NEA grant where she conducted workshops from kindergarten age up through senior citizens. Her work also took her to Rhode Island prisons. “This work is where I really learned how to teach”, says Connie.
Connie met her future husband, Alan, at Rhode Island School of Design. He was one of the first to get involved with the newly emerging field of video, although he initially wanted to be a sculptor. Connie started to work with Alan when they conducted professional workshops and honed their teaching skills. After they married, they moved to Philadelphia and bought a “shell of an old brownstone building in the art museum area”. Connie spent the next nine years renovating it! She also came to the conclusion that it would be too difficult economically to be a textile artist. She joined forces with Alan forming Coleman and Powell, a video/media firm. For the last 20 years, Connie has taught at the University of the Arts (formerly the Philadelphia College of Arts and Design) where she is a Professor of Computer Animation. She also teaches in the Communications program at
Arcadia University where Alan is an Associate Professor.
In 2006 Connie responded to an article on the HCRAG Camp in the Bucks County Herald. Although she had not hooked in many years, her extensive textile experience and an afternoon reviewing the basics with Mary Jo and Karl Gimber prepared her for her first rug hooking camp. Connie saw this “as an opportunity to return to something from my childhood.”
Her rugs do not fit into the commonly described styles. The rug design determines how it will be hooked. Not surprisingly considering her background, Connie enjoys designing her rugs, finding the right garments/wool and figuring it all out. She “loves the challenge of designing.” Connie follows in the footsteps of her favorite conceptual artist – Hans Haacke – who “takes an idea and finds an appropriate medium and way in which to articulate it.” Central and South American textiles have a great deal of appeal as well and are a source of inspiration for her. She is currently working on the first in a series of prayer rugs and a portrait/memorial rug of her cat, George.
The recycling aspect of rug hooking has a lot of appeal. She works almost exclusively with recycled garments. Connie kept the dye pots from her weaving days and uses them to over-dye her wool. She is still using her mother’s Cushing dyes!
Her work schedule does not allow time to attend many workshops or classes. Since she has the summers off, Connie has attended each of the three HCRAG summer camp since joining the Guild. “This is necessary for me to learn technique” she says. At camp she has worked with Norma Batastini, Susan Feller and Gail Dufresne. Connie also credits Guild members for helping her learn by sharing their knowledge and rugs.
Returning to rug hooking was not done without overcoming pain and physical issues with her hands. She has suffered from debilitating osteoarthritis for which she recently under went surgery on her right hand. The hand is healing and Connie is optimistic about being able to hook without the extreme discomfort she had to endure in the past.
During the time Connie spent as a weaver, she understood how lonely a profession it was. She came to value the importance of community and the need for association with others. Fostering the need for community is one reason why Connie actively supports the Plumsteadville Grange. She is involved 
with the Grange quilting group where she designs quilts that are raffled to support their Farmers’ Market. Both she and Alan help with the Grange’s breakfast and dinner fundraisers.
Connie is “a voracious reader and not necessarily of high-brow books.” She also enjoys cooking and gardening. After many years living in center city Philadelphia, she “loves living in the country”. Connie and Alan live in rural Pipersville, PA with their miniature Poodle BJ -- a rescue dog who is now blind.
As a teacher of creative people, Connie has special insights into what is needed to nurture the creative process. She observes that “There are lots of creative people who never have the opportunity to find constructive support. Our Guild provides creative energy and support. You can feel it at our meetings, camp and workshops.”
Immediately upon joining the Guild, Connie found ways to get involved. She helped locate the facility we used for our hook-in and worked though out the day of that event. Connie helped to coordinate our bus trip to Lancaster and is playing a similar role with the upcoming trip to Winterthur. She will be sharing her knowledge at the May meeting with her program on Computer Assisted Design for Rugs.
Connie Coleman is an example of our diverse, talented and supportive membership. She helps makes our Guild special.
Meet Our Member! Nina Seaman
November 2008 Hooker of the Month
Nina Seaman spends the summer and early fall months on Bell’s Island, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia where she is very actively involved with the local rug hooking community. We are fortunate that she is with us the balance of the year.
Nina came to rug hooking later in life starting in the 1990s when her friend, Fran Lewis, presented her with rug hooking lessons as a birthday gift. As Nina says: “It was the best present ever! It opened a new vista for me. I began to see things differently, such as now many different colors of grass are in a field. I also found out things I didn’t want to do – hook in a fine cut or do shaded flowers – and I focused on the things I wanted to hook such as crazy padulas, the sea, boats and wharves, the sky, pictures of the island and the people.” Her first rug, which was her own design, was of an image she saw every day – a Cape Island Boat.
She works in primitive folk art style, using #6 - #8 cuts of wool. Nina uses recycled wool as well as some Dorr wool. Recently she has begun using more spun wools, as well as fleece. Nina has also branched out to using metallic cloth and ribbon as well as other embellishments. According to her friend and past instructor, Deanne Fitzpatrick, “Nina’s style is to mull over a piece of work for a good long time as she looks at it. She waits to see what new materials she will find that will enhance the rug. She is patient in her approach to her work.” 
Two Nova Scotia hookers -- Doris Eaton and Deanne Fitzpatrick – have had the most influence on Nina’s development as a rug hooker. She does not attend many workshops or camps, although she did attend one with Marion Ham in Maine and then several with Deanne Fitzpatrick in Nova Scotia. Nina also worked with Roslyn Logsdon at The Highlands.
While Nina does some dyeing, she prefers to work with “as is” wool, including lots of tweeds and plaids. When she first started, Nina used mostly commercial patterns with a few of her own. Today, she draws most of her patterns and rarely relies on a commercial one.
Rug hooking is Nina’s major hobby. She finds it “so fulfilling and meaningful that it has crowded out other interests.” Travel and art museums are sources of inspiration for her that goes into making rugs. Nina likes to hook in the late morning and early afternoon. Mornings are used for gathering materials or working on designs. She claims to “do my best thinking while on my morning walk or in the shower.”
In 2005, Nina’s rugs were featured at an exhibit at the LaHave Islands Marine Museum. The theme was the island and its people. The rugs were a collection of stories about the government wharf, fish stories, Sunday church, the fisherman, the hard work and the boats. The exhibit had a great response from those who saw it. 
Nina is a retired World History teacher. She taught for many years in the Edison, NJ school system. Nina and her husband, Bob, who is a retired Presbyterian minister, lived all their professional lives in NJ, mainly in Edison. They lived in Toms River for eight years before retiring and moving full time to Nova Scotia. They now split their time between their home on Bell’s Island and their new home in Plainsboro, NJ. The home in Nova Scotia was their summer place before renovations in 2000 made it a year round house. They spent many summers there with their two sons, John and David. Both sons are married and bring their families to Bell’s Island each summer. Nina has four grandchildren – Lydia, Ian, Kate and Will. She has made rugs celebrating the birth of each of them as well as others showing life on Bell’s Island. Nina is now thinking ahead to The Jersey Girls show in April, 2009 and to a mat that celebrates the friendship of a group of women who she taught with in Edison.
When Nina moved to Plainsboro, NJ in January 2008, she was soon reunited with her long time friend Roberta Smith. It was through Roberta that Nina was introduced to our Guild. We are indebted to Roberta!
(Some of the information in this article is from Deanne Fitzpatrick’s article “Great Beginnings Start Somewhere in the Middle – The Art of Nina Seaman” that appeared in the June/July/August 2006 issue of Rug Hooking Magazine.)
Meet Our Member! Joanne McIllmurray
October 2008 Hooker of the Month
Joanne lives is Schwenksville, PA. The distance to our meetings and her job prevents her from attending as many meetings as she would like. However, she finds ways to contribute to HCRAG. Last year, Joanne presented the Guild program on wool “feather trees”. She also participates in most HCRAG demonstrations in Pennsylvania at The Henry Muhlenberg House in Trappe, the Peter Wentz Farmstead in Worcester, PA and the Apple Butter Frolic in Harleysville, PA.
Joanne’s involvement with rug hooking started accidently in October 2004 when she stopped at Homespun in Herford, PA and met Nettie Snyder who was so enthusiastic about rug hooking that Joanne signed up for a workshop in November. She went home and did some internet research and that night bought a little 8” x 8” pumpkin kit on eBay. The woman from whom she bought the kit was a big help too and told Joanne about online rug hooking groups which she joined. When the pumpkin kit arrived a few days later, she worked on it immediately using a hoop. It was finished in one day and she was hooked! The following weekend, she went back to Homespun and bought a Puritan frame. Joanne had three rugs completed by the time she took the November workshop. She has not stopped since.
Her first rug hooking camp was “Hooked in the Mountains” at Shelburne Museum in April 2006 where she worked with Karen Kahle. The following August she took a Jon Ciemiewicz workshop. Jon drew Joanne’s cat, Nicky, who she lost a few days after coming back from Vermont. Joanne prefers to hook in 8 and 8.5 cuts in the primitive style, but she completed Nicky’s rug in 4 and 6 cuts. Joanne has also taken several workshops at Homespun.
She is a real student and “absolutely loves pouring through books with antique rugs and trying to copy their style.” Her favorite book is American Folk Art Rugs Underfoot by Joel and Mary Kopp. She was able to see several of her favorite rugs from the book last year at the American Folk Art Museum’s exhibit in New York City
When she first started hooking, Joanne said that she would “never get into dyeing her own wool or drawing her own patterns”. That changed in less than two months. She now enjoys “playing in the dye pot” when she has the time. She especially likes the colors that can be achieved by marbleizing. Joanne visits the local thrift stores looking for wool skirts and slacks that she will over dye. She also buys yardage, more so lighter shades that she can also over dye.
Joanne works with patterns she buys as well as her own. She claims that she “cannot draw to save my life”, so she has a practical approach to rug design. She uses shapes from the internet that she prints, cuts out and traces and items from the house such as plates and various size bottles that she traces for circles. Her approach works well for primitive style patterns. Joanne believes that “Rug hooking is what you do with the colors you use that really make your rug come alive. The same person can hook the same rug, but one can look totally different than the other.” When not designing her own patterns, Joanne keeps her eyes open for “that pattern that when you see it you know you have to hook it.”
When you consider the energy and enthusiasm that she put into her first pumpkin project, it is not surprising that Joanne hooks every chance she gets. With a full time job, hooking in the evenings currently works best. You will find Joanne at her hooking frame most evenings. After work, she enjoys coming home and sitting down to hook after dinner that is often prepared by her husband. When hooking she concentrates completely on her rug. Joanne works on one rug at a time. Usually that means whipping the edges and completely finishing the rug before starting the next one. However, she is often planning her next rug while working on one. Sometimes Joanne has trouble getting started on a new rug, but when she does, she “can’t seem to stop until it is finished.”
Being a prolific rug hooker presents the challenge of what to do with all her creations. The year after she started hooking, Joanne was accepted into several juried craft shows. She hates to part with them, but does not have the room for all she makes. She also has her rugs in several stores and does well around the holidays. The feather tree work shop that Joanne presented to the Guild has become popular and she has given the workshop at the Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center in Pennsburg, PA and the Mennonite Heritage Center in Harleysville, PA. Others have expressed interest too.
Joanne learned about our Guild from Mary Jo and Karl Gimber who were taking workshops at Shelburne when she was there. Her love of rug hooking has allowed her to support the Guild by demonstrating at events in Bucks and Montgomery Counties that are difficult for others to do.
When she is not working or hooking, Joanne enjoys reading, flea marketing, shopping and going to the movies. She also loves the ocean and will often jump into her car and drive to the beach for the day, mostly during the off season.
Joanne and her husband Phillip just celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary. They do not have children, but do share their lives with two cats – an Abyssinian named Miles who just turned 15 and a Bengal named Riley who is two. Joanne has worked in the construction industry for about 25 years. When she was laid off last year, she found work in another industry, but looks forward to returning when an opportunity arises. Phillip is an expeditor for a company that produces anesthesia machines.
Joanne grew up in a Pennsylvania German family where everyone did hand work of some kind. Her grandmother used to crochet, sew, needlework, knit and quilt. Her mother is still an avid quilter, seamstress and knitter. Her uncle taught her to do needlepoint and crewel embroidery. Joanne learned to do stamped cross stitch at the age of 6. She still has her first project, which hangs in her hooking room. For many years Joanne did counted cross stitch, but was unable to continue because of hand problems. She then discovered rug hooking. The rug hooking community and Guild are glad she did!
Meet Our Treasurer! Gisele Meader
September 2008 Hooker of the Month
Gisele Meader is one talented lady! Not only does she create beautiful fine cut rugs, but she is an award winning quilter, a doll maker and a sewer. She also does counted cross stitch and redwork. The amazing thing is that Gisele works on all these creative endeavors at the same time. Her rugs and quilts have won awards at many local shows. She won blue ribbons this year at the Hunterdon County 4-H & Agricultural Fair for her miniature redwork quilt and one for her rabbit rug entitled “Snack Time.” Her quilts and rugs received similar recognition at the Mercer County 4- Fair recently held at the Howell Farm just south of Lambertville, NJ. Gisele is the proud winner of a national contest sponsored by the manufacturer of the Bernina Sewing Machine. The challenge was to complete an 8 ½ inch quilt block using the color red. Her award was an all expense paid trip to Alex Anderson’s Quilt Retreat in 
Livermore, California.
Gisele’s introduction to rug hooking came in the early 1970s when she lived in Hopkinton, New Hampshire and attended a rug show where she was inspired by the rugs hooked by Hallie Hall who was a McGown certified instructor from Contoocook, NH, an adjacent community. Hallie’s classes were full, but she agreed to fit Gisele in “if she was serious and did the work.” The classes were in Hallie’s home and ran from 9 to 4 for $3! All aspects of rug hooking were covered including dyeing, so Gisele received a strong foundation. Initially, Gisele worked on burlap and used narrow cuts to hook pictorial rugs based on Currier and Ives prints. She brought several of her early rugs to camp this year to share during the rug show.
In 1978 Gisele moved to Massachusetts and had to stop rug hooking. She held two full time jobs, commuted 75 miles one way to work and had two children to raise. There was simply no time for rug hooking. Twenty years later, Gisele returned to hooking on a part time basis. Her sister was remodeling her kitchen in 1998 and Gisele hooked four hot mats that had a flower motif based on the pattern of the wallpaper in the kitchen. She designed the patterns and dyed the wool. Her sister hung the mats on the wall where they still remain. Hooking items for the family continued when in 2000 she completed a buckboard bench seat cover for her cousin using English ivy leaves from her yard as the pattern source.
Bernie, Gisele’s husband, encouraged her to return to rug hooking on a steady basis. She started to look for a guild and attended a HCRAG meeting in February 2003. Later that year Gisele was representing the quilting guild at the Hunterdon County 4-H Fair when she met several HCRAG members who were demonstrating rug hooking. They encouraged her join the Guild, which she did.
Gisele is a member of the historic “Phillips House Group” (formerly the Birum House) that meets at the Howell Farm where they make items needed for the farm museum and store. While working on the hooked seat mat project, she learned of Gail Dufresne. It had been 25 years since her initial wool dyeing class, so she signed up for Gail’s class to refresh herself. “It was a fantastic class”, says Gisele. Gail helped design and plan Gisele’s award winning Manatee rug that she hooked for her grandson Josh. Through Gail, she also took a class with Elizabeth Black who is the acknowledged expert on hooking animals. Since Gisele works with fine cut wool (3 cut is her largest), Elizabeth’s approach was a natural one for her.
While Hallie Hall had a major influence on Gisele early on, she currently draws her inspiration from Guild meetings and from the interaction of small groups of members who demonstrate at the 4-H Fair, the Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead and other sites.
The rugs created by Gisele are almost always in response to a specific person’s request. She retains very few of her creations. Most are given to family or friends. About half of the patterns are ones Gisele creates for the occasion. The wool is purchased and dyed specifically for the project. Gisele does not work with “as is” wools. The backing used is fine linen specifically made for narrow cut hooking.
Gisele’s sister Teresa is a long arm quilter and recently custom quilted Gisele’s appliquéd Santa quilt that was on display at the 2008 Hunterdon County 4-H Fair. In return, Gisele is hooking a seat mat for a new bench in the master bedroom. Hooking on the project started at the HCRAG camp this summer. The pattern is based on the quilt in the bedroom. Gisele designed the pattern and dyed the wool from swatches of fabric provided by her sister.
Gisele says she hooks “whenever I can fit it in”. She is driven by target dates often associated with her projects, such as birthdays. As a member of the “Hooksome Chatmore Group”, she is assured of at least a couple of days devoted to rug hooking each month.
Gisele spent 31 years working for AT&T. She started as an operator with New England Telephone and then moved into human resources. Shortly after retiring in December 1998, her son Jon, who had a framing sub-contractor business in North Carolina, asked her to help him start a general contracting business, supporting the bookkeeping end of both businesses. What was supposed to be one week a month for a few months turned into a four year commitment. When Gisele’s mother, who lived in New Hampshire, became ill, she spent much of her time travelling between New Jersey, North Carolina and New Hampshire. This was a time when family needs were her priority. There was no time for hooking or other creative things. When it became clear that the needs of Jon’s business would be more extensive than expected, they struck a deal that in lieu of salary he would build her a retirement house in North Carolina for cost.
When her life returned to some sense of normalcy, Gisele returned to New Jersey and was able to give more time working in the flower department of the Pennington Market where she is responsible for bookkeeping. Bernie is the Estate Manager for the Roebling Estate in West Amwell. They have two sons -- Mike who is a teacher in Wisconsin and Jon in North Carolina. Jon has three children – Josh (age 9), Caleb (age 7) and Abby (age 3) who is adopted from China.
Gisele’s bookkeeping skills are used to the benefit of our Guild, her church and the West Amwell Cemetery Association. She serves as the Treasurer for all three organizations. Gisele has also been a Hospice Volunteer for the last 14 years.
Gisele Meader is a talented and valued member of our Guild. She contributes in many ways and we are fortunate indeed to have her involved in the rug hooking community.
Meet Our Member! Janet Bosshard
June 2008 Hooker of the Month
Janet Bosshard grew up on a farm in Hunterdon County in the 1950s. At that time, there were fewer people living in the area and children had to find ways to entertain themselves. Encouraged by her mother, Janet was attracted to handwork and learned knitting, counted cross-stitch and needlepoint. 
This attraction to creative work done by hand stayed with her. In 2001, Janet signed up for a beginners’ workshop with Gail Dufresne sponsored by the Hunterdon County Adult Education Program. Before the workshop started, Janet saw an article in the Hunterdon Democrat about Susan Feller and her Church Door Gallery in Califon, NJ. Hooked rugs were mentioned in the article, so Janet decided to visit the gallery to see what hooked rugs looked like and to find out what she got herself into with Gail’s workshop. She loved the rugs Susan hooked. At the time Susan was not teaching, but had wonderful things to say about Gail and encouraged her to take the class. That is how it all started.
The first class with Gail was held at the ESC School, but the participants agreed to meet at Gail’s home for future sessions, which was ideal because they could see all the different styles and projects in Gail’s home/studio. It opened up a whole new world. Looking back, Janet found Gail to be the ideal teacher for someone new to rug hooking because of her wealth of experience that she eagerly shared.
In October 2002, Janet along with her daughter went to the ATHA Biennial Exhibit held at the Valley Forge Convention Center. The vast display of rugs hooked in diverse styles and techniques stimulated her to want to do more and learn more. By chance, Janet met Helen Johnson at the exhibit. Helen was one of the top fine cut hookers in the area. Janet’s daughter was admiring a McGown rug and was encouraging Janet to buy the pattern and hook the piece. Helen overheard the conversation and mentioned that she was the instructor for that pattern. Initially, Janet was unsure that she could hook the complicated leaf pattern, but Helen assured her it could be done. Following the exhibit, Janet contacted Helen and arrangements were made for her to take lessons. She learned jar dyeing using Cushing Dyes and dyed all the wool for the rug, which was completed in a #4 cut. It is still among Janet’s favorite pieces.
Janet hooks in anything from a #3 cut to a #8 cut. The cut depends on the pattern and for whom the rug is intended. Janet has found that her children like rugs with detailing that calls for narrow cuts. Rugs completed for her grandchildren are normally done with wider cuts since the patterns have less detail. Each project is approached with flexibility. Janet wants the rug to be personal and something the individual will like. Janet is very generous with her rugs. Most are done for others. She has completed a rug for each of her three children and six grandchildren. Actually, the rug for her youngest grandchild, Harry, is not yet completed.
Participation in workshops and camps assures that Janet continues to grow as a rug hooking artisan. In 2003, she travelled to Virginia to work with Sally Kallin who describes her style as “impressionistic primitive”. Arline Bechtoldt, Bev Conway, Sherri Heiber-Day, Jayne Hester and Helen Wolfel are instructors with whom she has studied. The workshops were sponsored by HCRAG, the Everittstown Group or local classes. Most of the projects Janet has completed were patterns she purchased or were designed by her instructors. However, she is starting to develop her own designs. Janet wants to design her own pattern for the rug entered into the “Jersey Girls” Exhibit. A current rug for the Longstreet Farm challenge will be mostly of her own creation. Janet is still attracted to McGown patterns even though the shading associated with McGown style hooking is less popular than it once was.
Janet works with both recycled wool and new wool purchased from her instructors and other vendors like Rebecca Erb. At first, she went to a lot of garage sales and purchased recycled garments. When it became clear that her interest in hooking rugs was going to be long term, Janet decided to improve the consistency of the wool in her rugs and started to purchase more new wool. Janet notes that she “became more fussy” as her skills improved. Currently, she uses recycled wool from her stash together with new wool. Janet likes to incorporate wool purchased from her instructor when working on a project started at a workshop.
She has taken dyeing classes with Gail Dufresne and Arline Bechtoldt and enjoys dyeing her wool. Normally, Janet will dye her wool at the time she is starting a new project. The biggest obstacle is pulling out all the equipment and making a mess in the kitchen. Without a dedicated place for dyeing wool, the dye pots and equipment must be put away after each dyeing session. When her husband is 
away on a trip, Janet often sets up for several days of dyeing.
Janet finds that the winter months (January to March) are her most productive for hooking. When it is bleak outside, it is so satisfying to sit and hook. When the weather is better, there is just less time available. Janet’s enthusiasm for rug hooking is demonstrated by her active involvement in several guilds and hooking groups. She has been Corresponding Secretary of the Alice Beatty ATHA Chapter for the last four years, she demonstrates rug hooking at HCRAG community events and hooks with the Longstreet Farm and Everittstown groups. Gail Dufresne was responsible for introducing Janet to our Guild. She recalls the enthusiasm of our members and the wide range of projects. Janet remembers that at one end of the spectrum Barbara Lugg was creating wonderful pins and at the other end, Margaret Lutz was working on a room size rug! The friendships formed, the sharing and the enthusiasm are what bring her back.
Janet’s husband, Steve, is a Captain who has flown with United Parcel Service (UPS) for 20 years. He recently was assigned to fly the Boeing 747. Unfortunately, most of his flights will originate in Anchorage, Alaska. The schedule will call for flying for two weeks followed by two weeks off. Janet and Steve plan to try to make the arrangement work with him coming home every two weeks and her flying out to join him when she can. Steve loves to fly and is eagerly looking forward to learning to fly a new airplane.
Up until last year Janet and Steve lived in an old farm house which they renovated over the last 20 years. They moved to Monmouth County to be closer to their daughter and so that Janet could help with baby sitting the youngest child. Their home was sold to their niece who also grew up on a farm and will lovingly care for the farmstead.
The Bosshards have three children and six grandchildren. Their oldest son, Henry, his wife, Gail, and children - Grace, Margaret and Harry - live in Allentown, PA. Their son Mike and his wife, Laurie, live in Maryland with their son Matthew. Daughter Ali lives in Monmouth County with her husband Chuck and their children Brooke and Tyler.
When she is not hooking rugs or caring for her grandchildren, Janet enjoys gardening, antiquing and going to garage sales. She continues the hand work learned as a young girl and often knits scarfs for friends.
Janet Bosshard is someone who is generous with the rugs she creates giving most of them to family or friends. She is generous with her time as she finds ways to support her rug hooking groups. Most importantly, she is selflessly provides time to support her children and family. We are fortunate to have her as a friend and member of our Guild.
Meet Our Member! Bernice Smith
May 2008 Hooker of the Month
Bernice Smith’s mother-in-law, Ada “Mae” Smith, was an accomplished rug hooker in the Pearl McGown tradition. She was basically self taught with an excellent color sense and technique using #3 and #4 cuts. She started hooking in the late 1940s. After moving to Hillsbourough, NJ, she became part of a small rug hooking group. Bernice recalls that Mae had a number of books dealing with rug hooking and McGown newsletters. She introduced Bernice to rug hooking about a year after Bernice’s marriage to her son, Barrett, and gave her a new Puritan frame, a new Bliss cutter, and her first hook. The frame and cutter are still in use today, 40 years later, but the hook eventually needed replacement.
The first rug (#4 cut) that Bernice hooked was a McGown floral called “It’s a Cinch” that contained roses, iris, pansies, leaves and a simple scroll. Over the years, she has settled into hooking mostly with a #5 cut, but will also use a #4 cut or #6. Bernice has moved away from hooking commercial designs. She does not see herself as a rug designer, but the truth of the matter is that Bernice does design most of her own rugs. Photos, slides and pictures are the sources for most of her rug ideas. She is drawn to family related subjects such as: her Bedlington Terriers, her son’s interest in lacrosse, the beautiful windows of the church she attends, and early trips to the Maine Coast. “Eclectic” is the word she uses to describe her style and the rugs she creates. Her tendency is to choose projects that challenge her even though she is not quite sure she is up to the task. Bernice jokingly says that she is “better at starting than finishing” referring to some rugs that take years to complete. Once she starts a rug, she works on it to completion, which is why she is determined not to start any new projects until the few she has in progress are complete.
Bernice hooks weekly with a group that meets each Thursday at the Everittstown Church. This assures that she works on her hooking at least one day a week and also provides for wonderful fellowship and interaction with some very fine and talented ladies.
In the late 1970s, while at her son’s swim team practice, Bernice met Pauline Phillips who was working on a rug while waiting for her son to finish practice. Through Pauline, she met another rug hooker, Peggy Zahn. The three formed a friendship and started meeting to work together on their rugs. Peggy and Pauline introduced Bernice to HCRAG in about 1978. Through the Guild she met a talented teacher, Penny Waring Hayes, and worked under her tutelage for about a year until Penny moved to New England.
When it comes to dyeing wool, Bernice does it if she has a need. She is “not a serious student of the dye pot”. She likes working with both new and recycled wool and if needed may over-dye. Her favorite backing is rug warp that she finds works well with her cut. Bernice has used linen also. For small, odd projects she will use monk’s cloth, which she has among her supplies. She no longer uses burlap. Bernice has found that one of her mother-in-law‘s early rugs has serious problems where the burlap backing has given way. Bernice wants her hooking projects to last, hopefully, for generations.
After earning a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education from Paterson State College (now William Paterson University), she went on to a teaching career where she taught at the elementary and middle school levels. While teaching she earned a Masters Degree in Guidance and Personnel from Rutgers University where she met her husband. Bernice stopped teaching when her son, Evan, arrived and remained at home until he was in high school. During that time she earned an Associates Degree in Computer Programming. In 1987, she went to work as a computer programmer for a large insurance company. After retiring 1997, she was able to return to hooking rugs and the Guild once more. She attended several of the Guild’s summer rug camps where she became acquainted with a wonderful rug-hooking instructor, Helen Wolfel. Helen returned to the camp several times and also taught two summers for the small rug hooking group Bernice meets with on Thursdays. Helen was an avid dyer and over a period of time got Bernice started on four of her most challenging rugs.
Bernice’s husband, Barrett, is a retired earth science teacher. They enjoy playing cards in the evening and reading aloud to each other. Fiction, history and poetry are among the subjects they most like to read. She enjoys using her digital camera and sharing her photographs with others. Bernice has also been very active in her church over the years.
Last year the Guild was treated to a program on hooking trees that was presented by Bernice. Many who attended have commented that they now find themselves looking at trees differently and observing things they had not noticed before. The Guild is fortunate to have Bernice Smith as a member.
Meet Our Member! Janet Santaniello
April 2008 Hooker of the Month
Janet Santaniello learned to hook rugs in 1978 and has been at it ever since. It started when Janet and several friends visited the home of Nadine Rogg who was a rug hooker living in her town. They fell in love with Nadine’s rugs and wanted to learn to hook. Through Nadine, Janet met Alice Beatty at 
a local antique show where Alice was speaking. Unfortunately, Alice’s classes were full, so she was not taking new students. When her classes opened up, Janet and her friends all signed up. Alice was McGown trained, but she preferred to hook in the primitive style and her students tended to gravitate towards primitive rug hooking. It is what Janet prefers too.
Janet hooks mostly with #7 or #8 cuts with #6 cut used for detailing. When she buys patterns, they are normally adaptations of old or antique rugs. Janet likes to design her own rugs as well. After 30 years of rug hooking, Janet confesses that “I have wool coming out my ears!” The wool is stored in large boxes in the attic and basement. Like most of us, Janet finds that it is a challenge to keep the wool storage area neat and organized. As woolens are pulled out for possible use in a rug or returned after a rug is completed, they do not always get immediately returned to their box.
Janet likes the effect that can be achieved with textured wool and recalls the workshop with Jayne Hester where she used eight different wools (tweeds, herringbones and checks) in the background. Over the years she has used a lot of recycled wool, but increasingly turns to the wonderful new woolens being sold. Janet is an accomplished dyer having taken classes with Alice Beatty and Arline Bechtold. However, she really does not like to dye and with the great woolens now available finds less reason to get the dye pot out. When she does, it is for a specific need in her current project.
Selecting instructors who hook in the primitive style is an important consideration when Janet signs up for camps and workshops. She attends one or two a year and is a perennial participant in the HCRAG Rug Hooking Camp. In recent years, she has studied with Lucille Festa (at Cape May last year), Jayne Hester and Jule Marie Smith (three workshops). Janet recalls the enjoyment from participating in Patsy Becker’s backyard classes before Patsy moved to Cape Cod.
A busy schedule makes it difficult for Janet to hook on a regular basis. A new rug project often provides the stimulation needed to hook, especially if the rug is progressing well. The winter months when the weather is unpleasant is a time to get more hooking done.
Alice Beatty was responsible for introducing Janet to what was then known as the Molly Pitcher ATHA Chapter (now the Alice Beatty Chapter). Janet has been a committed member and currently serves as its President. In the early 1980s, Janet attended a show of the works from all local guilds (quilting, needle work, rug hooking, etc.) that were under the sponsorship of the Hunterdon County Adult School Program. It was held at Hunterdon Central High School and Alice Beatty was the featured speaker. Janet and many of her fellow students traveled to see the show and to hear their teacher and mentor lecture on primitive rugs. It was there that she discovered the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild. Currently, Janet is a member of the McGown Guild in Bernardsville, NJ and the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild. The distance involved makes attendance at Green Mountain events difficult and limits participation to shows and an occasional workshop at Shelburne Museum. Janet is also an active participant in the group that hooks at the Everittstown Church each week. She also has a group of friends who meet in their homes to hook. Janet enjoys the informal and casual groups. As she reflects on the various rug hooking groups with which she is involved, Janet notes the “rug hooking community is a great bunch”. She enjoys the camaraderie of being with people who share her love of pulling loops and creating hooked rugs.
Janet and her husband Phillip, who retired from the electrical business nine years ago, live in Watchung, NJ. They have two children – Phillip and Maryann – who live in Hunterdon County. Maryann has two children, Lauren and Kathryn McKean, both of whom have a nursery rug hooked by their grandmother. Janet enjoys hooking rugs for the family, so each of her children and nieces have wedding rugs (six rugs in total!). Janet was a secretary before she was married. Volunteer work at a local hospital eventually led her to form her own floral design business. Janet was part of a volunteer group who created floral arrangements. When the hospital closed, she was encouraged to continue arranging with a flower shop that sponsored her for formal training with the Floral Association. A request from her daughter’s friend to do the flowers for her wedding led Janet to establish a freelance business from her home, which continued for 20 years. Eventually the overuse of her hands created physical damage and pain that caused her to close her business. It also presents problems today for wide cut (#9) hooking. When she is not taking care of her grandchildren, working on ATHA matters or hooking, Janet enjoys antiquing in the tri-state area. She and Phillip share an appreciation of primitive antiques.
After 30 years of involvement, Janet Santaniello is well informed and active in most rug hooking activities in NJ. She attends lectures such as the one recently held at Longstreet Farm, she helps welcome new ATHA Chapters such as the one in Lambertville and supports efforts such as the New Jersey Girls project. All of this is in addition to participating in HCRAG programs and running the Alice Beatty ATHA Chapter. It is no wonder that she is so admired by those who know her!
Meet Our Member! M. Kay Weeks
March 2008 Hooker of the Month
Kay Weeks’ journey as a rug hooker started in 1998 when her mother gave her the home made rug hook used by her grandmother. The hook was made out of a wooden clothespin with a nail driven in one end which her grandfather filed down and bent to form the hook. There were teeth marks at the base of the clothes pin. According to the oral history of the family, Kay’s mother would pick up the hook and put it in her mouth when her grandmother put it down, so that she could tend to whatever 
was cooking on the wood burning stove in the kitchen. Her grandmother recycled feed sacks and cut the fabric by hand. The rugs were put by the doors to cut down on drafts. Kay felt a strong need to use the hook and complete a rug in honor of her grandmother.
At the time the local library had very little information on rug hooking. All Kay could find was a page or two in craft books. Someone told her of Margaret Lutz who she called right away and went down to see her. Kay bought a frame, cutter and a professional hook, which she took home and “started to play around.” Kay also went to the local thrift stores and started collecting wool of all kinds including blends. Her initial attempts at hooking did not go well. Much of the fabric frayed. Kay soon learned that 100% wool was preferred. Margaret was not teaching at the time, but encouraged Kay to come to a HCRAG meeting. Fearing that Guild members would “all be pros”, she felt intimidated, and asked her friend Ingrid Cosmen to come with her. The two of them went to the “small Yellow House” in Flemington where the Guild met. They found the meeting room overflowing with rug hookers who were warm, welcoming and sharing. Both Ingrid and Kay were excited to find others who shared their interests. Gail Dufresne was President of the Guild at that time and was just getting started teaching. Kay signed up for a class and took advantage of all the Guild’s programs and classes.
Kay has participated in HCRAG camps and workshops ever since. She finds the fellowship and new project ideas stimulating. In time, Kay found that she would be in a position to mentor others. She currently is involved with a rug hooking program for school children. Kay is also an active member of the Alice Beatty ATHA Chapter.
“Not for the floor only” is how Kay describes her rug hooking projects. Living on a working farm with seven dogs and five cats means that floor rugs would be damaged in no time. Therefore, she creates pieces mainly for the wall and for the top of tables. As her abilities grew, Kay branched out and started to design her own patterns. They can be adaptations or completely original. However, each project has to have meaning for her. As an example, Kay once saw a painting by Barbara LeVallie, and Alaskan artist, in her book entitled “Painted Ladies”. With the artist’s permission, Kay adapted the image of her painting “Children Dancing with Umbrellas Over Puddles” to show her grandchildren jumping in puddles. In this case, she took someone’s image and modified it to reflect a family meaning.
Guild members have enjoyed following the development of Kay’s cedar chest series. The project started when Kay decided to hook a covering for an antique family cedar chest given to her by an uncle. The original idea was to hook a runner for each of the four seasons. She then decided to do one for each month. Seven have been completed so far. A new one is started each year at our camp in August. She attempts to work with a new instructor each year and to incorporate what she has learned into the rug. She also makes it a point to include wool purchased from the instructor.
Living on a working farm does not allow much time for traveling. Kay limits her attendance at camps and workshops to those sponsored by the Guild. Over the years, she recalls with fondness working with Elizabeth Black, Sherri Heber Day, Gail Dufresne, Susan Feller, Michele Micarelli, Kim Nixon and Helen Wolfel.
The recycling aspect of working with recycled garments was one of the features that attracted Kay to rug hooking. She now prefers to buy natural white wool and dye it. Kay and Ingrid will get together for a “dye day” where they work all day and share the results 50-50. They both like to experiment. Kay has accumulated all the equipment from local garage sales. She has taken various classes on wool dyeing and currently prefers the approach taught by Wanda Kerr, who is often featured in Rug Hooking Magazine. Kay now has bundles of dyed wool in boxes on shelves and can pick out what she needs before each project. She enjoys the creative process of matching wool colors to her designs.
Kay hooks as much as she can. She likes to get up early and hook for an hour or two, but finds it difficult to do that consistently. She finds the weekends a good time to hook when the demands of the farm are less. Kay enjoys settling in on Saturdays listening to a book on TV while she hooks. On Sunday after church and lunch, she will hook all afternoon if possible.
When asked to describer her style, Kay says: “It all has to do with color, not cut. I love to work with color.” She is especially attracted to light and medium values. Kay started hooking with #4 & #5 cuts and then was introduced to #3 cut by Elizabeth Black. Her Bolivar cutter has #3, 6 & 9 cutter blades which meet all her needs nicely. Kay fully organizes each project and needs to have every thing in place before she starts to hook. The pattern is drawn. Her wool is selected. Then it is time to sit and hook. Not surprisingly, her 2008 camp project is ready to go!
Kay was born in Alexandria, VA and grew up in Washington, DC. After attending American University she went to work with Capital Airlines (now United) where she met her future husband, Jay, who was a Capital Airlines pilot. They married in 1958. When Jay’s mother passed away, they returned to the family home in High Bridge, NJ. Going from the big city to the country was a big change and challenge for Kay. By the time their third son was born, they had out grown the house and eventually moved to the 100 acre farm in Port Murray, NJ which Jay had been operating “on the side” raising beef cattle, hay and corn. There was still the big city girl in Kay, but she “bit the bullet” and made the move. She quickly fell in love with the farm and the life style it offered. There was a sense of freedom, family closeness and “trees for the boys to climb.” Kay was introduced to joys of flower and vegetable gardening.
Kay and Jay have three sons – Jay Jr., Jeffrey and James. Jay Jr. is married and lives on a home built on the farm. He has two step children – David who is in college and Ryan who is in the Air Force. Jeffrey lives in Anchorage, Alaska where he is a Captain on ships that fish for King Crab and salmon. James also lives in Alaska (Kodiak) and works for several captains fishing for salmon, cod and herring. James has a son and daughter who visit their grandparents each summer.
An interesting aspect of Kay’s talents is the work she has done with her church in the area of “Puppet Ministry”. For 14 years, she worked and traveled with children who performed puppet shows in various church settings such as Messiah College, a Christian college in Pennsylvania. When the children outgrew the puppets, Kay turned to “Clown Ministry” which she did with adults for seven years. She found the clowning was a great activity for empty nesters. Christian clowning brought her 
“to a whole person”. She could share her joy and her giving feelings. “Clowning was a freeing experience”, according to Kay. Guild members had a chance to appreciate Kay’s clowning skills when she as “Yakm” the clown welcomed participants to our hook-in in April. (Yakm is M. Kay spelled backwards.)
Kay has always had a special interest and love for children. She was trained at the Western Theological Seminary in Michigan and spent some 14 years as a trainer, counselor and consultant in the Reformed Church Children and Worship Program. This gave her the opportunity to travel to many church denominations and assist Christian leaders in setting up children worship centers. Weezie Huntington was one of her students. Kay feels her previous church involvements helped to prepare her for the exceptional opportunities to touch the lives of many young children giving them a foundation for spiritual development.
As Kay turns 70 years of age, she looks back on her life philosophically and sees that “Life puts us on many paths, ends become beginnings and beginnings become endings. The last 10 years of rug hooking have been wonderful. A new world of color has opened for me. I look at trees, the sky and things around me differently. Rug hooking has provided a world of creativity and fellowship for me.”
Our Guild benefits from Kay’s enthusiastic celebration of life!
Meet Our Member! Weezie Huntington
February 2008 Hooker of the Month
In 1990 Weezie was pregnant with her younger son and wanted to make something hand-made to commemorate the upcoming birth. At the time, she was teaching at the Princeton YWCA and saw a brochure on various “Y” programs. She signed up for an introduction to rug hooking program taught by Margaret Lutz. Weezie was a weaver for many years and found rug hooking allowed her to move more quickly in a direction and was an activity that was more portable than weaving. While her previous interests have included basket making, knitting (briefly) and sewing, photography continues to be a passion, as does hooking. She cannot imagine life without either of those activities.
Weezie prefers to hook in a wide cut (considering anything less than a #6 cut to be “fine hooking”) and tends towards rugs with bright colors with patterns that are not too realistic. Her first rugs were of farm animals and farm scenes. She then did a series of rugs inspired by greeting cards. Weezie strives for a primitive look where the image is close, but not fully realistic. At times she works from photographs and recalls hooking a rug based on a pen and ink drawing of the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Fair, combined with pictures she took of the pigs at the Howell Living Farm. That rug was entered at the Fair the following year, where it received “Honorable Mention”.
A busy work and family schedule does not permit much time for classes and workshops. Weezie averages about one workshop a year. Most recently that has been our Guild’s summer rug hooking camp. However, in years past, she has attended programs at the Highlands and the Outer Banks. Last year, for the first time she was able to go to Shelburne, taking a workshop with Jule Marie Smith. Her other instructors have included Helen Johnson, Claire De Roos, Bev Conway, Helen Wolfel Rae Harrell, Jayne Hester and Kim Nixon. After working with Kim, Weezie started collecting old stools that now await a hooked top.
Weezie learned of the Hunterdon Guild from people she knew. About 10 years ago, a friend brought her to a HCRAG meeting that was also a members' rug show. She met Pandy Goodbody who, as it turned out, was a good friend of her brother-in-law. Weezie finds Guild members to be very encouraging and enjoys the camaraderie and the common bond that exists among rug hookers. She likes the creative thinking and finds that she is always learning from our members whether it is at a regular meeting or at camp. Weezie currently serves as the Guild’s Co-President. She is also a member of the “Hooksome and Chatmore” Group that meets to hook in members’ homes once a week. Weezie also hooks at the Hopewell Branch of the Mercer Country Library on the 1st Thursday of 
the month. She encourages other Guild members to participate.
When it comes to dyeing wool, Weezie claims “not to be good with recipes or following them”. “Eyeball dyeing” is more her approach. At one time, Weezie did more dyeing than she now does. Dyeing is generally initiated by someone in the “Hooksome” Group or a workshop and is not for a specific purpose or project. About 65% of the wool in Weezie’s current rugs is new with the remaining 35% being recycled. Like most of us, she finds it difficult to pass up the wonderful wools available today.
For the last six or seven years, Weezie has designed her own rug patterns. It is something she “loves to do.” Her rugs tend to be big and she normally works on one rug at a time, so she has few UFOs. Weezie is not in a position to hook every day. The “Hooksome & Chatmore” Group and the Mercer Library Group provide the structure to assure at least one day a week is devoted to hooking. There are certain times of the year when she can get more hooking done. Starting a new rug or finishing one is exciting and she will work more diligently at those times. Weezie’s rugs are made for her family. She would like to sell them, but finds that the price most people are willing to spend is just too low. She has hooked several rugs for charitable auctions.
Weezie has had a diverse and varied professional career. After graduating from the University of Denver with a BA Degree in Geography, she spent a year at the University of Wyoming in Environmental Studies and then became a Geophysist’s Assistant with Mobil Oil after which she became a self employed weaver. Her next job was as a UPS driver, a job “she loved”. She was promoted to Industrial Engineering Supervisor at UPS, a job she held for 5 years until leaving the company to be a mom. After the birth of her first son, she spent 12 years as a real estate broker/salesperson. Today, Weezie is a Certified Aquatic Fitness Professional working at the Princeton YWCA where she teaches aerobic level classes as well as working one on one helping to rehabilitate stroke victims. She also serves as a deacon at her church, sings in the choir, and is in charge of organizing and running the summer mission trips.
Weezie and her husband, Paul Moran, live in Hopewell, NJ. Paul is a quality assurance consultant specializing in medical devices. Weezie has two sons, Paul, from her first marriage who lives in Virginia Beach with his wife and their daughter, Kaylee, and Matthew, who is a high school junior. They have no pets since husband Paul, and Matt, are allergic to animal hair.
In her current role as HCRAG Co-President, Weezie has helped lead the growth of our Guild in the last two years. She is an effective spokesperson for rug hooking and HCRAG.
January 2008 Hooker of the Month — Kim Kagan!
Kim was living in Ohio when she first observed rugs being hooked at a local folk festival similar to the Mercer Folk Fest. She was disappointed that the rugs were not for sale, but purchased a kit with a small heart image. Kim was still working full time and not being aware of local instructors or hooking groups, the kit was put away for a later time. At the time, she was also involved with basket weaving, tole painting and water colors.
In 1999, Kim moved from Ohio to Doylestown. She did not plan to return to work and, therefore, had time to finally pursue rug hooking. She saw an article about a local rug hooker, Edith Prundeanu, who was teaching at the Mercer Museum. The classes were full, but Edith told her about the Bux-Mont Guild that met at the Doylestown Library. Kim went to the October meeting and sat next to Hildegard von Tenspolde who inspired her. The following month, Kim brought the kit she bought in Ohio and the Guild members helped her get started. She soon learned of Vicki Calu who lived near-by and completed a chair pad kit with Vicki’s guidance. By then, Kim “had fallen in love with rug hooking” and decided upon a more ambitious project – a large rug. She selected a “Whispering Pines” pattern that reflected a woodlands theme with pinecones. Vicki helped with the dyeing of the wool and the color planning, but it was apparent that Kim had found her art form and was a natural talent. That first rug was accepted for recognition in “Celebrations XI”. (We wonder how many, if any, other first rugs have been included in Celebrations.) After the rug was completed, Vicki shared that pine cones are among the most difficult images to hook properly, so Kim is especially proud of the end result.
Those who admire Kim’s wide cut primitive rugs may be surprised to learn that she started as a fine cut hooker doing realistic florals with traditional shading. At the time, she did not know about primitive style rug hooking. After hooking for about one or one and a half years, Kim met two women at Vicki Calu’s studio who hooked primitive style rugs. She was immediately attracted to wide cut hooking. Shortly thereafter, Kim bought a crow pattern kit along with the wool from Rebecca Erb and changed course. As someone who is serious about rug hooking, Kim admires all hooking styles and wants to be experienced in all aspects of the art form. However, wide cut primitive rugs are her passion.
Kim is dedicated to her development as a rug hooking artisan. She has taken classes “up and down the east coast and mid-west”. The workshops, camps and instructors are purposefully selected to help her learn and round out her hooking experiences. Kim sets goals for her continuing development. Becoming proficient in hooking portraits and landscapes are on her agenda. To say that Kim enjoys attending workshops is an understatement. One year she attended seven! In a typical year, Kim participates in three or four camps/workshops. Each one is selected with a specific purpose or a specific instructor in mind. She attempts to work with and learn from all the major instructors. Elizabeth Black ,Nancy Blood, Barb Carroll, Gail Dufresne, Dick LaBarge, Emmy Lou Lais, George Kahnle and Helen Wolfel and are just a few who come to mind.
Kim speaks of Penny Hayes with particular fondness and sees Penny as her mentor. They met at a camp in Maine and soon were vacationing together where they spent their time dyeing wool and hooking rugs. According to Kim, “Penny is hooking the antiques of tomorrow.” Penny, who now lives in Tennessee, is one of the founding members of HCRAG.
Large rugs appeal to Kim more than smaller ones. Since a new project is typically started at each workshop, Kim normally has several rugs going at the same time. When she first started hooking, Kim stayed with one rug until it was completed. However, she found that she “got sloppy when she became bored with the rug”. With three or four rugs under development, she can switch to another rug when she tires of doing background on one. Kim disciplines herself by setting deadlines, but acknowledges that she still has her share of unfinished projects.
Kim describes herself as “a novice wool dyer”. She has taken classes and knows what to do, but tends to buy the wool she needs for a rug. When she dyes, it is more to add to her stash rather than for a project. She likes to hook more than dye and is always anxious to get started on the next project. When it comes to her stash, she has an entire room dedicated to her wool with floor to ceiling shelves and plastic tubs. Kim confesses that her wool “is spilling over to another room.” When Kim first started hooking, she used recycled wool almost exclusively and visited the local thrift stores on a regular basis. Today, she relies more on suppliers for her wool. In addition to collecting wool, Kim collects patterns and ideas for rugs. She has a sketch book where she records notes for rug ideas. She is comfortable and confident in enhancing a pattern by making changes that better reflect what she wants.
The hooking frame and favorite chair are always in view. Kim likes and tries to hook every day, but there are times when weeks go by without pulling a loop. More often than not, she “gets into a rhythm” and works steadily on the current project. With large rugs, she approaches them in sections and normally sets a goal for herself when she sits down to hook. “That way it is not overwhelming.”
Madeline and Margaret Brightbill are responsible for introducing Kim to HCRAG about four years ago. At the time they were members of the Bux-Mont Guild where Kim served as president for two years. In addition, Kim has participated in the hooking group at the 
Highlands as well as several open studios and community rug hooking groups in the area. She is inspired by HCRAG members and by the rugs shared during the “show and tell’ portion of the meeting. Kim admires the wide range of rug hooking styles displayed by Guild members and their sharing nature.
Kim grew up in Plaistow, NH where she was one of five daughters and the youngest twin (by three minutes). After high school, she married and had two children. Kim divorced in 1980 and devoted the next 10 years working as a single mother raising her children. She was living in Westford, MA when she met her future husband, Michael, who was an engineering manager. In 1992, they moved to Ohio when Michael was promoted and then to Doylestown, PA in 1999 with a promotion to VP of Engineering and Operations for a bio-tech company. Her son, Joshua, lives in Tennessee and her daughter, Melinda, lives in Ohio. Kim has four grandchildren. Kim and Michael have two Boston Terriers – Max and Maya -- and a log house in Maine where they go several times a year. Their New England home is an ideal showcase for Kim’s primitive rugs. Kim volunteers at a thrift store that supports the Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) and enjoys antiquing. Michael is an accomplished woodcarver, turner and sculptor who shows and sells his work at several shows. He is also active in several carving clubs.
Learning and improving her technique is important to Kim. Equally important is sharing what she has learned with others as demonstrated by her recent Guild meeting programs. Kim Kagan contributes to our Guild in many ways. She is a real HCRAG asset.
